Anaheim Ducks Tales: The 2003 Sweep of the Detroit Red Wings
2003 is more commonly known as the year the Anaheim Ducks almost won the Stanley Cup. However, the road to the Stanely Cup Finals led them right through Hockeytown to face their biggest rivals.
The fierce rivalry between the Anaheim Ducks and the Detroit Red Wings began long before the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs. In fact, the inception of the rivalry began on the very day the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim took the ice for the first time.
We all know the story. Detroit is up 7-1 near the end of the third period. Then, Red Wings defenseman, Steve Chiasson, took a penalty in the third period, sending the Mighty Ducks on a power play. Detroit’s Dallas Drake wins the draw, clearing the puck down the ice.
Alexei Kasatonov skates down the ice, taking possession of the puck and passing it to Anatoli Semenov. In a beautiful display of passing, Semenov sent the puck down low to Troy Loney. The captain rocketed the puck into the net past goalie Peter Ing, through the five-hole.
An Anaheim goal drowned out the deafening sound of what would be a 7-2 defeat at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings. Thus, a beautiful rivalry was born and thrived until the day the Detroit Red Wings were moved to the Atlantic Division.
The competition between the two teams heated up even more come time for the playoffs. Between 1996 and 2002, the Mighty Ducks had only qualified for the playoffs twice. Both times the road led them directly to Detroit.
In 1997, the Ducks had their first series victory over the Phoenix Coyotes, only to be swept by the Detroit Red Wings in the Semi-Finals. This included not one, but three overtime losses. Again, the Mighty Ducks were swept by the Red Wings in 1999, but this time in the Quarter-Finals.
When the Anaheim Ducks qualified to make the playoffs once again in 2003, it seemed as though the team had the winning formula. The team was led by Paul Kariya, Petr Sykora, Steve Rucchin, and Jean-Sebastien Giguere was between the pipes.
However, their second place status in the Pacific Division paired them with the first place Central Divison Detroit Red Wings. From previous experience, it did not look as though things would work out in the Anaheim Ducks favor.
April 10, 2003: Someone, Please Score a Goal!
The 2003 Detroit Red Wings roster was stacked with players who would eventually find themselves in the hall of fame. Names like Sergei Fedorov, Brett Hull, Brendan Shanahan, and Nicklas Lidstrom graced the score sheets on a nightly basis, leading the team in a 110 point season.
Skating onto the ice at Joe Louis Arena for Game One was likely exhilarating for the Mighty Ducks. Not only were they facing off against one of their biggest rivals, but they were also facing off against the defending Stanely Cup Champions. If they wanted to defeat these giants, it was now or never.
Steve Rucchin met Kris Draper in the faceoff circle, winning the draw for the Anaheim Ducks. However, the Draper line set the tone early for the Detroit Red Wings, quickly taking control of the game.
Early in the first, Ruslan Salei took a holding penalty for the Mighty Ducks. As great as the Ducks penalty kill unit was, the Red Wings power play was lethal. With the best power play in the NHL, they sat an entire 7.39% above the league average.
It didn’t take long for the Red Wings to prove just how dangerous their PP was. Less than a minute into the Salei minor, Brendan Shanahan capitalized on the one-man advantage and rocketed the first goal of the game past J.S. Giguere.
The Mighty Ducks refusal to challenge the Red Wings for the puck came back to haunt them. The score was now 1-0 early in the first. Not a good sign for the team who had been bested by the Red Wings every time they met in the playoffs.
The opening period was creeping to a close, and an Anaheim Ducks goal seemed to be nowhere in sight. Gaining possession of the puck, the Ducks took this as an opportunity to generate a few chances. The puck bounced right to Adam Oates, and on a backhand shot, he scored the game tieing goal 15:33 into the first.
A goal gave the Anaheim Ducks a new found confidence, dictating the tempo of the rest of the game. Giguere led his team into overtime, hunkering down between the pipes and saving shot after shot.
The Ducks success seemed short lived when it looked as though the Red Wings scored the game-winning goal. In a shocking turn of events, the officials waved it off. The call on the ice, no goal. Neither team had yet to score a goal and the game tricked into the third overtime period.
Steve Rucchin won the faceoff, giving the Ducks a chance at a goal. Paul Kariya, Anaheim Ducks hero, scored the game-winner 3:18 into the 3OT. For the first time in franchise history, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim had defeated the Red Wings in a playoff game.
April 12, 2003: Making it a 2-0 Series
One win was enough to get excited, but not enough to let the celebrations commence. The stark reality that at least three more games lay ahead began to sink in. The Red Wings still had plenty of time to pull ahead in the series and defeat the Mighty Ducks for the third time.
Detroit had the home-ice advantage yet again. After being so close to a win in Game One, they were hungry for vengeance. Game Two would be critical in setting the pace for the rest of the series.
The Mighty Ducks struck early in the opening period. A few minutes shy of the halfway point, 19-year-old rookie, Stanislav Chistov, scored the game-opening goal at 7:17. This would be his first of four goals during his first and only playoff appearance.
The first period ended with a scoreless Detroit team. Despite the few power-play opportunities freely given to them by the Anaheim Ducks, they were unable to make anything happen.
The second period started and the Red Wings came hot out of the gate. It took them less than three minutes to tie up the game. With the help of Sergei Fedorov and Brendan Shanahan, veteran defenseman and first-year Red Wing, Jason Woolley scored the game tieing goal.
The Mighty Ducks were beginning to lose steam, allowing for yet another Red Wings goal early in the second period. Luc Robitaille broke the tie at 6:39 of the second. The Ducks managed to keep them off the board for the rest of the period. However, no goals from Anaheim meant they needed to come out swinging in the third.
As time ticked off the clock in the third, it looked as though the Red Wings were about to tie the series. Anaheim, however, was relentless and a beautiful goal from Jason Krog tied the game up 2-2 late in the third period.
The shadow of another overtime game loomed like a black cloud over Joe Louis Arena. One of these teams needed to make something happen, and quickly.
Less than three minutes after Krogg’s game tieing goal, the Anaheim Ducks answered the call. Veteran forward, Steve Thomas sent the puck soaring past Curtis Joseph off a pass from Rob Niedermayer.
The Red Wings audience, as well as the team, sat in stunned silence as the Ducks pulled ahead. The final buzzer sounded, and for the second game in a row, the Mighty Ducks had bested the Detroit Red Wings, a franchise first for the waterfowl.
April 14, 2003: The Game That Was Almost a Shut Out
The confidence of the underdogs grew as the Mighty Ducks began to realize they had defeated Detroit in a game they had no business doing so. The team was headed back home, hoping they could clinch their third win in Anaheim.
The ice called out like a familiar friend, welcoming what would hopefully be the Mighty Ducks first home win in a series against Detroit. The Pond was filled to capacity with over 17,000 electrified fans. This moment had been four years in the making, and Ducks Nation was hoping they could cheer their team to victory.
“It’s so loud in there. I didn’t know it could be that loud. People don’t realize how much they push you when they start cheering and screaming… There is such thing as a home ice advantage when the crowd is that loud.” -J.S. Giguere, Anaheim Ducks Goaltender (2000-2010)
The hometown crowd fueled the Mighty Ducks, propelling them to have another stellar performance. The opening period was uneventful, the performances by both teams keeping one another at bay.
Samuel Pahlsson‘s goal was the spark that lit the fire for Anaheim. Rookie Stanislav Chistov aided him in scoring the game-opening goal 2:31 into the second period. Both teams were able to hold each other off for the remainder of the period, ending the second with a score of 1-0.
Detroit was still in the game. One goal is not something any team is unfamiliar with. A third-period resurgence was within grasp. They just needed to get the puck past the brick wall cemented in the Anaheim Ducks net.
The puck dropped, signaling the start of the final period. Within less than two minutes, Chistov claimed his second point of the night when he propelled the puck towards the net and beat goaltender Curtis Joseph earning the Ducks their second goal of the night.
Still, a two-point lead early in the third didn’t put the Red Wings in an impossible situation. They pushed themselves, hoping their efforts would pay off in the form of a goal. Low and behold, a penalty from the Ducks would be just what they needed to make it happen.
Samuel Pahlsson took a two-minute penalty for holding the stick, sending him off to the sin bin to pay for his “crime.” Tomas Holmstrom became the Red Wings hero, putting them within one. He had finally figured out how to break down Giguere, shutting down any possibility of the goaltender having a perfect night.
Nevertheless, the Red Wings fell short yet again. The time on the clock expired without a change in score. The Mighty Ducks had pulled off another win, just one goal and a few minutes shy of a shutout.
Another phenomenal performance from J.S. Giguere, coupled with the offensive provided by the team in front of him, led Anaheim to their third win in the series. His 36 of 37 saved shots on goal were the driving force behind their win. The Ducks were about to enter Game Four just one win shy of a series sweep.
April 16, 2003: An Anaheim Ducks Franchise First; Sweeping the Red Wings
One game stood between the Mighty Ducks and their first series win against the Detroit Red Wings. It was still possible for Detroit to pull off a miracle and come from behind to win it all. However, the starry-eyed Ducks had the sheer tenacity of the limpet.
They clung tightly to the fact that within hours, they could finally exorcize the demons that had plagued them in their two previous playoff appearances. One more win and they could finally claim victory over their fiercest adversary’s. One game, however, seemed like a very long road.
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Fear became their motivator. They knew the Red Wings like the back of their own hand. They were capable of many things, including winning Game Four of a 3-0 series. Sending the series into Game Five and heading back to Joe Louis Arena was not a comforting thought.
Brett Hull set up Henrik Zetterberg for the first goal of the game, lighting up the scoreboard for Detroit first. The Ducks, however, answered back quickly. The Mightiest of Ducks, Paul Kariya scored his second goal of the series, tieing the game up 1-1.
A second-period lull sent the teams into the third period tied. The Anaheim Ducks didn’t let the tie linger on the scoreboard for long. Jason Krog saw his opportunity and didn’t hesitate, putting the Red Wings down by one.
A regulation win tantalized the Mighty Ducks. In just mere moments, they would sweep the Red Wings, something that had yet to be done by the franchise in their short 10-year history. Less than four minutes on the clock was a sign that the end was drawing near.
The Red Wings, however, had yet to give up. Four minutes allowed them plenty of time to get back into the game. Sergei Fedorov knocked the puck off of Keith Carney‘s stick in the Anaheim Ducks zone and in one flawless motion, he snapped the puck into the back of the net past J.S. Giguere, tieing the game 2-2.
The series was ending how it all began, the game heading into the dreaded overtime period. The next goal would win the game. After that, it was finished. Either the Ducks would win or they’d pack their bags again and head back to Michigan.
Carney flew down the center of the ice, his pass connecting with Steve Rucchin. Joseph made the save, Carney grabbed it off a rebound and took it behind the Red Wings net. Rucchin skated infront of the net, his position seemed like the best option for a goal, and the puck connected with his stick yet again. With a flick of his wrist, he sailed it towards the net.
Joseph was unable to make the save and just like that, the Anaheim Ducks had swept the Detroit Red Wings. The man who had been the meat to the Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya sandwich for so many years was once again dubbed a Mighty Ducks hero.
In a fit of hysteria and excitement, his teammates tackled him to the ground. A 4-0 sweep had seemed so unlikely. Yet, as proven by the Anaheim Ducks season after season, sometimes your biggest fears become your best motivators.
Next. Joseph Blandisi Should Step in for Ryan Kesler. dark
The Ducks would go on to defeat the Dallas Stars in the Semi-Finals and sweep the Minnesota Wild in the Conference Finals. However, that is where their story sadly ended. The Mighty Ducks would lose in Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals to the New Jersey Devils. A harrowing defeat at the end of a long journey that started in Detroit.