Wait took its toll on Ducks

Ten long days. That is how long the Ducks had to prepare for the

opener of the Stanley Cup finals, and it appeared not to be worth the

wait.

The Ducks were certainly a little rusty and seemed to be out of

sync all game long. Although there seemed to be good energy and

fast-paced play early in the game, it eventually, and rather quickly,

was taken control of by the New Jersey Devils.

Having to wait that long between games is very difficult in the

post-season because you are gaining momentum with each victory and

are ready to roll from one series to the next. A hot team wants to

remain hot, and unfortunately for the Ducks, in game one they were

not.

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves and blame the game’s loss

on having too much time to rest, practice and focus on what they

needed to do in the finals in order to win, there were other factors

that lead to the loss.

First and foremost was the skill and playoff savvy of the Devils.

This is a veteran team lead by veteran players such as Martin Brodeur

and Scott Stevens, and along with them comes a cast of solid if not

spectacular players.

Guys like John Madden will continue to give the Ducks fits on the

penalty kill unit and will take every advantage they can get to make

something happen offensively when on a defensive role. Guys like

Jamie Langenbrunner will be so close to Paul Kariya that we will not

really be able to discern who is wearing the No. 9 jersey.

The Devils showed why they have been to the finals three out of

the last four years and why they have two Stanley Cup rings on their

fingers.

In all fairness, the Devils were the best team out on the ice and

dominated all aspects of the game. They were the aggressor in all

three zones and continued to put pressure on the puck at all times.

This lead to numerous turnovers and outnumbered attacks, which made

the Ducks the ones needing to make adjustments. The Ducks certainly

were not at their best, but the good news is that they know it.

It seems unimaginable to think that having made it to the finals,

this team would not be ready to play at the highest level. How and

why did this happen, and will the team be able to bounce back? I am

sure there have been many coaches who have asked that same question,

and one more coach may have just been added to the list.

The answer in layman’s terms is the brain simply got in the way.

Too much time to prepare is what this performance boiled down to. Too

much time to get the X’s and O’s down, getting pumped up. And then

the waiting. As the old cliche goes, hurry up and wait.

As an old coach once said to my teammates and I -- and I won’t

divulge his name -- let’s stick to the KISS plan. This, of course, is

an old hockey adage, of Keeping It Simple, Stupid. The Ducks simply

have to get back to doing the little things they have done and be

patient and wait for their opportunities offensively.

In this game, no one was particularly sharp for the Ducks, and

although Jean-Sebastien Giguere was good, he appeared to be human and

seemed to fight the puck on occasion.

As for Giguere’s counterpart, the Devils’ Martin Brodeur, he

needed little help in fending off the 16 shots, few of quality, he

faced in registering the shutout.

In the matchup of former players from the trade, the Devils got

what they needed from former Duck Jeff Friesen. His game-winner early

in the second period and empty-netter late in the third capped off a

two-goal performance and earned him the game’s first star.

The Ducks will chalk this one up as a learning experience, put it

behind them and move on to the next game. This team only looks at the

next game at hand as the most important one. Coach Mike Babcock wants

his team to concentrate on the present, and that will take care of

the future.

Game one jitters are gone, and here is the realization that if the

guys don’t buckle down and play the way they have in the previous

series, their fairy tale will come to an abrupt end. Like all classic

Disney movies, you know the girl gets the guy or the underdog wins in

the end, good guys finish first and these guys are certainly good.

Look for a more relaxed Mighty Ducks team in game two -- like all

teams, you look for a split on the road, and that is what the focus

will be on.