A team with a lot of jump

* EDITOR’S NOTE: As a special feature, Guy Hebert, a Newport Beach

resident and former goalie for the Mighty Ducks, will be writing

regular diaries about the team and its experiences throughout the

playoffs.

The improbable continues to happen. Jean-Seabastien Giguere

continues to be living a storied playoff run that will now go down in

the record books.

His shutout streak of some 208 minutes and 6 seconds, encompassing

the entire Western Conference final round thus far, is the longest

such streak in the modern National Hockey League area.

Three straight shutout games against the same opponent and this

deep into the playoffs ... well, are there really any words left to

say about it? This is the kind of stuff legends are made of. The most

impressive thing about this personal streak is that the focus has

never wavered from the goal at hand, that is, winning the game in

front of him and his teammates.

As I sat perched way above the Pond, watching the game from the

press box while I was on air with Steve Carroll, I could feel the

electricity in the building. Yes, even up there, you could sense that

the Ducks were focused and poised to take charge of Game 3 and take a

commanding lead in the series.

I knew this right after watching Paul Kariya on his first shift of

the game. He came out with jump -- hockey slang for good energy --

drove to the front of the net and challenged both Minnesota Wild

defensemen. Kariya was ready to make an impact in this game.

However, it was Steve Rucchin who got the Ducks on the board

first. Barely five minutes into the game, Rucchin slapped home a big

rebound from Wild goalie Dwayne Roloson and the Ducks took a 1-0

lead. The goal was scored in classic Anaheim fashion -- the Ducks had

attacked, driven to the front of the net and out-muscled the Wild’s

defense. This put an entirely different spin on the game. I don’t

think either team really knew how to respond to a goal scored this

early in the contest.

The response didn’t come until the second period, and it was

Anaheim that took charge. The Ducks and “Captain Kariya” -- that has

a nice ring to it, don’t you think? -- burned the Wild for three more

goals in the middle stanza. Kariya took a patented feed from behind

the net from Adam Oates and buried a shot as Roloson was caught on

the wrong side of the net.

Next, it was Stanislav Chistov making his own mark with a nifty

move in tight against Roloson to put the Ducks up 3-0.

Minnesota then lifted goalie Dwayne Roloson and put in Manny

Fernandez, who was rudely greeted with a highlight goal from Kariya.

Kariya batted the puck out of midair into the net for a commanding

4-0 lead. This lead was entrusted into the hands of Giguere, and he

was able to preserve the lead, the win and, of course, the shutout.

The Ducks will face a determined Minnesota Wild team on Friday

night. The Wild has shown too much resiliency this season and post

season to roll over and give Anaheim a free pass to the Stanley Cup

finals. It will be a true game, and Minnesota will get strong

goaltending from Fernandez, who was solid in relief of Roloson.

The Ducks, however, have a great opportunity to close out the

series at home and in four games, eliminating more travel, fatigue

and injuries. This Anaheim club has had many great opportunities

during this playoff run. They haven’t passed up on any so far, and I

wouldn’t expect them to do so now.