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Date Posted: 07:29:27 04/17/03 Thu
Cup Champs Swept by Mighty Ducks in OT
By The Associated Press
The Detroit Red Wings (news) didn't even win a game. The defending Stanley Cup champions were swept out the playoffs by the upstart Anaheim Mighty Ducks (news), with Steve Rucchin (news) scoring 6:53 into overtime for a 3-2 victory Wednesday night.
It was the first time a defending champion was swept in four games in the first round since the Red Wings did it to Toronto in 1952 — before going on to win the Cup themselves.
The Red Wings lost all four games by one goal and Anaheim's Jean-Sebastien Giguere (news), in his first NHL playoffs, was the talk of both dressing rooms.
"Obviously, it's a big upset. When you look back, I don't think it's any secret that it was one guy that won the series for them — and he was between the pipes," Detroit's Mathieu Schneider (news) said. "He was great, and he was lucky. That's playoff hockey."
Elsewhere, it was Philadelphia 3, Toronto 2 in three overtimes; Tampa Bay 3, Washington 1; Ottawa 3, the New York Islanders (news) 1; Colorado 3, Minnesota 1, and St. Louis 4, Vancouver 1.
The Red Wings had a new coach, former assistant Dave Lewis, and a new goalie.
Curtis Joseph (news), signed as a free agent during the offseason as a replacement for the retired Dominik Hasek (news), faced 120 shots in the series and allowed 10 goals in the four games against Anaheim, a 2.07 goals-against average.
Giguere, however, faced 171 shots and stopped 165, a 1.24 GAA.
"We just did not get it done, not one game," Lewis said. "One guy did not beat us; he was the difference but their team beat us."
Anaheim won its first playoff series since 1997, when the Ducks beat Phoenix before they were swept by Detroit, which won the first of three Stanley Cups in six seasons.
Paul Kariya (news), who was with the Ducks when Detroit knocked them out with sweeps in 1997 and 1999, scored in the first period to tie it at 1 after Henrik Zetterberg scored for visiting Detroit.
Jason Krog scored with 15:25 left in the third period to give the Ducks the lead before Sergei Fedorov (news)'s centering pass went off Niclas Havelid and into the net with 2:15 in regulation.
"They are a great team, and it's a good feeling to finally beat them," Kariya said.
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