Ducks and Devils play scoreless first period

By IRA PODELL
AP Sports Writer

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) The Anaheim Mighty Ducks and New Jersey Devils were no closer to determining who would win the Stanley Cup after a scoreless first period in Game 7 of the finals Monday night.

New Jersey's Martin Brodeur stopped five shots, and Anaheim goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere made seven saves in a conservative, tight-checking period.

Sergei Brylin had two good scoring chances. Midway through the period, the New Jersey forward took a pass in close from Turner Stevenson and fired a shot over the net. With 5:50 remaining, he ripped a one-timer from the slot that was stopped by Giguere.

Order was restored to the first period, which featured shootouts in Games 5 and 6. No goals were scored in the opening 20 minutes of any of the first four games, but play opened up in the previous two.

Neither team even mustered a shot until Mike Rupp came around the Ducks net and sent a drive from the right circle that hit Giguere and fell in front of him.

The teams combined for four goals in Game 5, and Anaheim grabbed a commanding 3-0 lead in the first period of Game 6 to make this deciding game necessary.

Stevenson was called for the only penalty of the period when he was sent off for boarding Mike Leclerc at 17:31. The Devils had the best chance in the man-advantage when Patrik Elias came in on a short-handed breakaway. Giguere turned aside him and trailing forward Pascal Rheaume.

The Devils were in a Game 7 of the finals for the second time in three years. It didn't go well for New Jersey in 2001 when it let a 3-2 series lead disappear against Colorado.

That was the only time since 1971 that such a lead was blown in the finals. The Devils were in danger of repeating the collapse. With a chance to wrap up their third Cup in nine years, New Jersey lost Game 6 in Anaheim on Saturday night.

So the series shifted back to New Jersey where the Devils are 11-1 this postseason. A win by the Devils would give them a record 12th home win in one playoff year. The home team won the first six games of this series.

The last time a team won a Game 7 on the road was also in 1971 when Montreal completed its 3-2 series comeback by winning at Chicago. In the 11 previous Game 7s, home teams were 9-2.

Devils coach Pat Burns coached his ninth career Game 7, which tied him with Scotty Bowman and Mike Keenan. One thing Burns doesn't have in common with those coaches is he's never won the Stanley Cup.

New Jersey defenseman Ken Daneyko was in the lineup for the first time in the series. Daneyko played every postseason game in Devils' history before this year, but he was a healthy scratch for the first six games against Anaheim.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)