Posted on 06/09/2003 9:27:44 PM PDT by Alberta's Child
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Home Sweet Home.
Unbeatable on home ice during the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals, the New Jersey Devils captured the Stanley Cup Monday night with a 3-0 shutout victory over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the climatic seventh game of the series.
The Devils soared to their third Stanley Cup in the past nine years on the strength of two goals by former Mighty Duck Jeff Friesen, a single goal by rookie Mike Rupp and the strong goaltending of Martin Brodeur, who notched his third shutout of the Finals.
The Devils set an NHL record with their 12th home win of these Playoffs, posting a 12-1 record at Continental Airlines Arena.
Friesen's second of the game at 16:16 made it 3-0 and started the party at Exit 16W off the New Jersey Turnpike as the Devils recorded their 16th win of the Playoffs against a true Cinderella story. The Mighty Ducks posted upset victories over Detroit, Dallas and Minnesota only to fall one game short against the Eastern Conference champs.
Anaheim goaltender J.S. Giguere was awarded the Conn Smythe trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs.
(Excerpt) Read more at nhl.com ...
Goaltender Martin Brodeur rebounded from a poor performance in Game 6 to set an NHL record with his seventh playoff shutout this season. He was the first goalie to get three shutouts in the Finals since 1945.
Two positive notes here:
1. Michael Eisner gets to stuff a sock in his mouth after promising a victory parade for the Mighty Ducks after they fought back to tie the series at 2-2.
2. In this most manly of sports, New Jersey's double-gaited governor Jim McGreevey is nowhere to be seen. In fact, his absence is conspicuous at New Jersey's home games (at least in terms of the television coverage).
I wouldn't describe someone's absence from a hockey game as "conspicuous," considering that nobody really cares about hockey or the Stanley Cup. That's like saying the governor was "conspicuously absent" from some church bake sale.
The opening game of the Stanley Cup finals drew a lower TV rating than the previous night's broadcast of the women's college softball game.
1.4 Nielsen rating (hockey) vs. 1.6 (girls' softball), for those of you keeping score at home.
The numbers for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup dropped even further -- down to a 1.1 rating. Clearly, it's not a popular sport in the United States.
What might have happened if the Ducks had the home ice advantage? We'll never know.
And Broduer also had (7) SO's for the 2003 playoffs - that's a ton. So my question is - why did JS Giguere win the Conn Smythe instead of Broduer? Only 4 players have ever won it without winning the cup - now JS Giguere is the 5th.
Only 90+ days until camps open.
Hat-Trick
why did JS Giguere win the Conn Smythe instead of Broduer?
I mean, look at those three frikkin names!
McGreevey has made no secret of the fact that one of his top priorities as governor was to get a new arena built for the NHL's Devils and NBA's Nets. It still hasn't happened -- in fact, I'm rooting against the Nets because I can't stand the thought that the success of these two teams will drive some politicians in New Jersey to support a new taxpayer-funded arena.
Sorry to interrupt your charade of corked bats, steroids, and Roger Clemens' 58th attempt to win his 300th game.
Despite his record on the ice, Brodeur didn't really dominate any games in the playoffs. In fact, in the three losses to Anaheim he gave up some of the softest goals I've ever seen in a Stanley Cup finals.
Anaheim, on the other hand, would never have gotten past the first round if it hadn't been for Giguere.
The Saturn blimp that provided some of the overhead camera footage of the Meadowlands tonight is now flying around over my town. LOL.
But to those of us in the States who realize that it is the greatest game of all do follow it passionately and loyally. There are no tougher, better conditioned athletes in any sport, on any field, from all countries than the professional hockey player, with the possible exception of Lance Armstrong.
Baseball has a great history and is truly America's game - but the athletes are a bunch of overpaid crybaby pussies in general. Going on the DL for getting sunburned at the tanning salon will never happen in hockey. And don't even get me started on Bud Selig being the "Commissioner"
The NBA? It's basically unwatchable, especially during the regular season when NOBODY plays defense until 2 minutes left in the 4th quarter. It's all about the stats. And the Benjamins. This league has been going downhill since Magic, Bird, and Isaiah retired. Ron Artest would last about one shift in the NHL before spitting out as mouth full of chiclets.
The NFL? Great game. 5-10 seconds of fury, then rest for 30 seconds x 3, then TV timeout. It should be called the beer commercial league. The most convoluted instant replay system known to mankind. Sure, hockey doesn't translate well to TV because it's too fast and many good things are happening away from the puck. It'll be interesting to see what happens with broadcast hockey when the collective bargaining agreement between the owners and players is re-negotiated.
Hat-Trick
I had no complaints about Giguere winning the Conn Smythe, but it's easy to see why Devils fans would be a little upset. In the four games they watched at the Meadowlands, Giguere gave up 15 goals and was 0-4. Brodeur was 4-0 with three shutouts in those games and gave up a total of only three goals.
When the Devils won the Stanley Cup in 1995 they were invited to the White House by Bill Clinton. If I remember correctly, only five of the players even bothered to show up.
Well said.
Excellent question. In my opinion, if your team doesn't win the Cup, by definition you couldn't have been the MVP of the playoffs. I would have awarded the Con Smythe to Brodeur -- three shutouts in the final round, shutout in the deciding Game 7, case closed.
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