Historical Moments:
1993/94: Once thought a failed experiment, Southern California benefiting from the greater
fan interest after Wayne Gretzky was traded to the Los Angeles Kings, landed a
second team as the Disney Cooperation was given expansion team to play near Disneyland
in Anaheim. However, most hockey purists cringed when they found out they
would be named after a hockey-themed kid's movie entitled Mighty Ducks. The
NHL Mighty Ducks first took the ice on October 8th losing to the Detroit Red Wings
7-2 before a sold out crowd at the Arrowhead Pond. The expansion Ducks would
have a surprisingly strong first season as won an expansion record 19 games
on the road while posting a record of 33-46-5. Along the way the Mighty Ducks would
sweep 2 games against the eventual Stanley Cup Champion New York Rangers,
proving how competitive the team could be.
1994/95: After a solid first season Mighty Ducks fans had to wait longer then expected for
their second season as a 4-month lockout put the season in limbo. When the season
finally started in January, Paul Karyia the Mighty Ducks very first draft pick
out of the University of Maine was ready for his NHL debut. Karyia instantly
became the Ducks best player leading the team in scoring with 18 goals, and 21
assists. However, the Mighty Ducks would struggle in their second season finishing
in last place with a record of 16-27-5.
1995/96: Paul Karyia continued to establish himself as a star as he finished 7th in the NHL
in scoring with 50 goals and 58 assists. With the Mighty Ducks in contention
for a playoff spot, management decided to add another goal scoring superstar as
they acquired Teemu Selanne from the Winnipeg Jets for Oleg Tverdovsky and Chad
Kilger. Selanne would post 36 points in just 28 games with the Ducks. However
it would not be enough to earn a playoff berth as the Mighty Ducks missed the
playoffs by a tiebreaker to the Jets with a record of 35-39-8.
1996/97: In his first full season with the Mighty Duck Teemu Selanne led the team in scoring
with 51 goals and 58 assists, as Paul Karyia added 99 points of his own despite
missing 13 games to lead the Mighty Ducks to their first ever winning season,
while finishing in 2nd place with a record of 36-33-13. In the first ever playoff
game the Mighty Ducks beat the Phoenix Coyotes 4-2 at the Pond. The Ducks
would also win Game 2 at home to take a 2-0 series lead. However, the Ducks would
struggle in Phoenix as the Coyotes won both games to tie the series. Not even
returning to the Pond could help the Ducks in Game 5 as they fell behind in
the series with a 5-2 loss. However, facing elimination in overtime Paul Karyia
forced a 7th game with a dramatic goal in overtime. Back at the Pond in Game 7
the Ducks blanked the Coyotes 3-0 to advance to the 2nd round. However, in the
2nd round it would be the Mighty Ducks who were blanked as they were swept in
4 straight by the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wins. However, 3 of
the 4 losses were in overtime giving Ducks fans reason to be proud.
1997/98: The Mighty Ducks would get off to a shaky start as they had trouble signing Paul
Karyia to a contract, forcing their star player to hold out. The Karyia hold out
had to be especially disappointing for fans in Tokyo, who had hoped to see the
star with Asian ancestry as the Mighty Ducks faced the Vancouver Canucks in the
first 2 games ever played in Japan at the start of the season. The Ducks and
Canucks would split 2 games, but without Karyia the Ducks would struggle posting
a 12-18-6 record before they were able to sign him on December 22nd. However,
Karyia would play just 22 games as he suffered an injury that ended all hopes
of a return to the playoffs as the Ducks finished in 6th place with a disappointing
record of 26-43-13.
1998/99: Paul Karyia would bounce back from a year of holdouts and injuries to score 101 points
as he finished second on the Ducks in scoring to Teemu Selanne, who had 107
points to lead the Mighty Ducks to their second playoff berth in 3 years with
a record of 35-34-13 good enough for 3rd place in the Pacific Division. However,
in the playoffs the Mighty Ducks would be mauled by the Detroit Red Wings in
4 straight as they were out scored 17-6.
1999/00: Despite solid seasons from Paul Karyia and Teemu Selanne the Mighty Ducks would struggle
all season playing mediocre hockey as they finished in last place with
a disappointing record of 34-36-12-3.
2000/01: The Mighty Ducks continued to wallow in last place as management decided to retool
trading away Teemu Selanne who was in the middle of a solid season to the San
Jose Sharks for Steve Shields, wing Jeff Friesen and draft picks. After the trade
the Ducks continued to struggle as Paul Karyia missed 16 games due to injury,
finishing with a 25-41-11-5 record which was worse then the expansion Columbus
Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild.
2001/02: The Mighty Ducks continued to struggle as they finished in last place for the 3rd
consecutive season with a record of 29-42-8-3. However, quietly the Ducks had
a strong second half as Jean-Sebastien Giguere established himself as the starting
goalie with a solid 2.13 GAA, while posting a 20-25-6 record. After the strong
finish GM Bryan Murray decided to be aggressive in the off-season as they signed
veteran free agent Adam Oates and acquired Petr Sykora from the New Jersey
Devils for Jeff Friesen and Oleg Tverdovsky.
2002/03: With the new additions came a new coach, as Mike Babcock took over behind the bench.
The new acquisitions worked as the Mighty Ducks played solid hockey getting
off to a 15-10-6-3 start. However, the Ducks felt they still needed to improve
so they acquire Sandis Ozolinsh at the All-Star Break from the Florida Panthers.
The Ozolinsh trade would vastly improve the Ducks on defense, as they were the
strongest team in NHL during the second half. Still the Ducks felt they needed
to make more moves and on trade deadline they acquired Steve Thomas and Rob
Niedermayer for a playoff run, as the team completed it's best season in franchise
history by finishing in 2nd place with a 40-27-9-6 record. Despite their solid
record the Mighty Ducks entered the playoffs as heavy underdogs as the 7th
seed facing the defending Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings. In Game 1 in
Detroit the Red Wings peppered Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere with 64 shots,
however just 1 got by as the Mighty Ducks stole Game 1 in triple overtime on
a goal by Paul Kariya. In Game 2 Giguere was solid again, stopping 34 shots as
the Ducks overcame a 2-1 deficit entering the 3rd period to grab a 2-0 series
lead. As the series shifted to the Pond it was more of the same as Giguere stopped
36 shots as the Ducks held on to win Game 3 by a score of 2-1. With a stunning
3-0 lead the Mighty Ducks completed the sweep with a 3-2 win in overtime on
a goal by Steve Rucchin as Giguere stopped another 32 shots. For the entire series
Jean-Sebastien Giguere stopped an incredible 165 out of 171 shots. After stunning
the Detroit Red Wings the Mighty Ducks were matched up against the top
seeded Dallas Stars. Once again the Ducks were a heavy underdog as they jumped
out to a 3-1 lead in Game 1. However, the Stars would rally and force overtime,
there Jean-Sebastien Giguere rose to the occasion again stopping a total of 60
shots as the game stayed tied through 4 overtimes. Finally 48 seconds into the
5th overtime the Ducks would win the game on a dramatic goal be Petr Sykora. Game
2 would also go to overtime as the Ducks took a 2-0 series lead with an overtime
goal by Mike LeClerc. However, the Ducks let a golden opportunity for a 3-0
slip away as they dropped Game 3 at home. Game 4 would be a scoreless battle
as Giguere stopped 28 shots before Mike LeClerc scored the games only goal with
1:47 left in regulation. After losing Game 5 in Dallas the Mighty Ducks completed
the upset at the Pond as Sandis Ozolinsh scored with 1:06 left to give the
Ducks a 4-3 win in Game 6. In a Western Conference Final of Cinderella Teams the
Mighty Ducks and Minnesota Wild battled into double overtime without either
team scoring a goal. Once again overtime would be the Ducks domain as Petr Sykora
scored the game winner 8:06 in to 2nd OT. In Game 2 Jean-Sebastien Giguere would
continue to confound the Wild stopping 24 shots for a 2-0 win in Game 2. In
Game 3 the Pond was in a frenzy as Giguere recorded his 3rd straight shutout
as the Ducks grabbed a 3-0 lead with a 4-0 win. Giguere would finally allow a goal
in Game 4 but the Ducks completed the sweep with a 2-1 win to advance to the
Stanley Cup Finals.
2002/03: Between the last game of the Western Conference Finals and the first game of the
Stanley Cup Finals against the New Jersey Devils the Mighty Ducks had a 10-day
layoff. While the Devils were battling through a tough Eastern Finals the Ducks
were basking in the sun of Hollywood as the became the darlings of Hollywood with
the elimination of the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. Goalie Jean-Sebastien
Giguere who went form unknown to superstar in the playoffs even made an
appearance on Jay Leno as he already had the Conn Smythe award for Playoff MVP
in his pocket. However, the 10-day layoff appeared to negatively affect the Ducks
as they lost each of the first 2 games 3-0, while being held to just 31 shots.
Making matters worse former Duck Jeff Friesen scored 3 of the Devils 6 goals
seemingly mocking the Ducks each time he scored. Desperately needing to turn
things around the Ducks finally got on the board in the 2nd period of Game 3 at
the Pond as Marc Choinard tipped in a pass from Sandis Ozolinsh. Ozolinsh would
add a goal of his own beating Devils goalie Martin Brodeur who fumbled his stick
from center ice. However, the Ducks would need overtime where Jean-Sebastien
Giguere set a single playoff record for not allowing a goal in overtime, before
Ruslan Salei scored of an Adam Oates face-off win to get the Ducks back into
the series. Game would also go to overtime, before Steve Thomas scored the game's
lone goal off a rebound 39 second into OT to give even the series. Back in
New Jersey for Game 5 the Ducks carried the momentum as Adam Oates won another
face-off to set Petr Sykora for a goal jus 42 second into the game. However, Jean-Sebastien
Giguere had his worst game of the entire playoffs as the Devils took
a 3-2 series lead win a 6-3 win. Back in Anaheim for Game 6 the Duck exploded
for 3 first period goals. The Devils would cut the lead to 3-1 in 2nd period
when Paul Karyia seemed to be knocked out by a crushing hit from Scott Stevens.
However Karyia would return a few minutes later and salted the game away with
his first goal of the finals as the Ducks forced a 7th game with a 5-2 win. Game
7 appeared to be more like the first 2 games, as both teams didn't score a goal
in the first period. The Devils would final break the deadlock in the 2nd period
as Mike Rupp and Jeff Friesen scored to give the Devils a 2-0 lead. In Game
3 the Devils just played keep away as the Ducks never got a real good scoring
opportunity before Friesen again haunted his old team by scoring with 3:44 left
to give the Devils a 3-0 win as the home team won all 7 games of the finals.
Despite losing Game 7 in the finals Goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere would still receive
the Conn Smythe.
2003/04: Coming off their loss in the Stanley Cup Finals the Mighty Ducks were stunned by
the departure of longtime Captain Paul Kariya who signed a Free Agent deal with
former teammate Teemu Selanne with the Colorado Avalanche. To replace Kariya the
Ducks signed another marquee NHL star in Sergei Fedorov of the Detroit Red Wings.
However Fedorov struggled early as the Ducks got off to a slow start losing
their first 5 games. The Ducks would play better as October close, but could
not get their head above water as they only had a winning record for two days
at the end of November. After ending December with a 13-15-4-5 record the Ducks
struggle got worse in January as they won just 3 of 16 games. The Mighty Ducks
would not be able to recover as they ended up missing the playoffs and finishing
in 4th place with a disappointing record of 29-35-10-8. Among the Ducks who
disappointed was Conn Smythe goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere who posted a 17-31-6
record with a 2.62 GAA.
2004/05: Season Cancelled Due to Lock Out
2005/06: Coming out of the Lock Out the Mighty Ducks looked to rebound and get back into the
playoffs after a disappointing 2003/04 season. Helping to restore optimism was
the return of Teem Selanne and the signing of defensive stalwart Scott Neidermayer
who was immediately named team Captain. However, the Ducks got off to a
slow start as Sergei Fedorov continued to disappoint before being dealt to the
Columbus Blue Jackets Tyler Wright and Francois Beauchemin. The deal seemed to
revive the Ducks as if it were addition by subtraction as they climbed back to
.500 at the end of November. After a mediocre December the Ducks began to make
their move in January as they only lost twice in regulation to get back into playoff
contention at 24-17-10. Following the Olympic break the Ducks got even stronger
winning 10 of 13, as they seemed to be gettting better each passing month,
as they qualified for the playoffs with a record 43-27-12 setting a new franchise
record for points at 98, as Teemu Selanne who had a team high 40 goals was
awarded with the Masterton Trophy for Dedication to the sport of hockey. In the
playoff the Ducks continued to rotate goalies with Jean-Sebastien Giguere and
Ilya Bryzgalov sharing time through the first five games of a first round match
up against the heavily favored Calgary Flames. The Ducks managed to hang tough
but faced elimination down 3-2 heading into a 6th game at the Pond. With Bryzgalov
getting the start the Ducks were able to force a 7th game with a solid defensive
effort to win 2-1. Bryzgalov would remain the starter in Game 7 in Calgary
as the Ducks defense again extinguished the Flames allowing just 22 shots
as the Ducks completed the upset with a 3-0 win. Coach Randy Carlyle continued
to use Bryzgalov in the second round against the Colorado Avalanche as the Ducks
jumped out to 2-0 series lead with two home shutouts. The Avalanche would finally
solve Ilya Bryzgalov in Game 3, but the Ducks would win in overtime 4-3, as
Joffrey Lopul scored all four goals for the Anaheim, who would go on to complete
the sweep with a 4-1 win in Game 4 to send the Mighty Ducks to the Conference
Finals for the second time in franchise history. Sweeping the Avalanche had
one negative side effect in that the Ducks were off for 8 days before they faced
the Edmonton Oilers at home in Game 1. The Ducks would look rusty as the Oilers
took the first two games in Anaheim with 3-1 scores. In Game 3 in Edmonton the
Ducks defense would unravel as the Oilers 3 goals in the first 5 minutes of
the 3rd period to take a 4-0 lead. The Ducks would rally would Oilers would hold
off the charge for a 5-4 win to take a 3-0 series lead. With J.S. Giguere back
in the nets for Game 4 the Ducks avoided the sweep with a 6-3 win. However the
hole would prove too deep to climb out as the Ducks lost the series in 5 games.
Following the season the Ducks would raid the very same Oilers for talent landing
Chris Pronger in a blockbuster trade as they got new uniforms, and dropped
the Mighty from their name.
2006/07: With the addition of Chris Pronger expectations in Anaheim went through the roof,
as the newly redubed Anaheim Ducks, were the overwhelming favorites at the start
of the season to win the Stanley Cup. With a new black and orange color scheme
the Ducks did not disappoint getting off to a fast start as they earned at least
one point in each of their first 16 games starting 12-0-4. Through the first
three months the Ducks were cruising in first place with a 27-4-6 record on
December 20th. However, as the New Year began the Ducks hit a rough stretch, dealing
with injuries to key players like Captain Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger.
However, thanks to their strong start the Ducks emerged from the injuries
still holding on to first place as they finished the season strong posting a franchise
best record of 48-20-14, as they won their first ever division championship.
Success in the regular season was nice, but unfulfilling for the Ducks as
they entered the playoffs with a Stanley Cup of bust mindset. In the first round
the Ducks faced off with the Minnesota Wild, and found themselves in a tough
battle in Game 1, as they were unable to solve Goalie Niklas Backstrom for most
of the game, as he stopped 32 shots. However, with a little over five minutes
remaining Dustin Penner gave the Ducks a solid 2-1 win. The Ducks would go on
to win the first three games of the series by one goal as the seventh seed Wild
gave the Ducks all they could handle. After Ilya Bryzgalov struggled in a 4-1
loss in Game 4, Jean-Sebastien Giguere took over and led the way to a 4-1 win
as the Ducks took the opening round series in five games. In the second round the
Ducks were matched up against the Vancouver Canucks who were led by Goalie Roberto
Luongo who was more then capable of stealing the series from the heavily
favored Ducks. The Ducks would deliver a strong statement in Game 1 beating the
Canucks 5-1 led by a hat trick by Andy McDonald. However, Game 2 would demonstrate
just how dangerous Luongo could be as he stopped 43 shots from the Ducks,
who were stunned in double overtime 2-1 on a goal by Jeff Cowan. Game 3 in Vancouver
would be another battle as the game was tied 2-2 in the third period, before
the Ducks took the lead for good on a power play goal by Corey Perry. The
Ducks and Canucks would go to overtime again in Game 4, but this time things would
be different as Travis Moen gave the Ducks a 3-1 series lead by netting the
game winner at 2:07. Back in Anaheim for Game 5 the Ducks and Canucks would go
deep into overtime again, as the Niedermayer brothers teamed up to get the Ducks
back into the Conference Finals, as Scott Niedermayer scored the game winner
at 4:30 of double OT after a big hit from Rob Niedermayer.
2006/07: Facing the top seeded Detroit Red Wings in the Conference Finals the Ducks found
themselves in an early hole losing Game 1 on the road 2-1. Facing the prospects
of falling behind 0-2, the Niedermayers again teamed up in overtime as Rob assisted
on Scott's game winner at 14:17 as the Ducks evened the series with a 4-3
win. As the series shifted to Anaheim the Ducks delivered their worst performance
of the playoffs in Game 3 losing 5-0. In Game 4 the Ducks would get off to
a better start leading 3-1 after the first period. However, the Wings would score
twice as the game was tied 3-3 entering a critical third period. Desperately
needing a spark the Ryan Getzlaf gave the Ducks a lead on a power play goal early
in the final period, as they would go on to even the series with a 5-3 win.
Game 5 in Detroit would prove to be the swing game of the series, as the Red Wings
outplayed the Ducks, but only had a 1-0 lead in 3rd Period thanks to the play
of Goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who stopped 33 of 34 shots. Facing the prospect
of falling behind 3-2 in the series the Ducks pulled Giguere in the final
minute and finally broke through tying the game with 47.3 seconds left on a goal
by Scott Niedermayer, as the Ducks benefited from having a 6-4 skater advantage
with a power play. In overtime the Ducks would turn things around out shooting
the stunned Wings 8-3, as Teemu Selanne scored the game winner unassisted
after a turnover by Andreas Lilja to give the Ducks a 3-2 series lead. In Game
6 with a chance to reach the finals the Ducks got off to a fast start taking a
3-0 lead into the 3rd Period. However, the Wings desperately trying to fight would
score three times in the third period as the Ducks needed several big saves
from Giguere to hold on to a 4-3 win. In the Stanley Cup Finals the Ducks would
face the Ottawa Senators. In Game 1 at the Honda Center the Ducks fell behind
early as Mike Fisher scored just 98 seconds into the game. Trailing 2-1 entering
the 3rd Period the Ducks would tie the game on a goal by Ryan Getzlaf, before
taking the lead with three minutes left on a goal by Travis Moen, who was assisted
by the Niedermayer brothers. Game 2 would be a battle of goalies as Jean-Sebastien
Giguere and Ray Emery both put up brick walls as they game was scoreless
until late in the 3rd Period when Sammy Pahlsson gave the Ducks a 1-0 win with
5:44 left. After dropping Game 3 in Ottawa 5-3, the Ducks took a 3-1 stranglehold
of the series thanks in part to two goals in one minute by Andy McDonald
in the second period as the Ducks won the game 3-2 on a 3rd Period goal by Dustin
Penner. Expecting a party in Game 5, Honda Center was rocking from beginning
to end as the Ducks jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead, and were never challenged
skating away with a 6-2 win to give California it's first sip from the
Stanley Cup, as celebrities that would usually be found at a Lakers game filled
the Pond. Captain Scott Neidermayer who helped break Anaheim's heart four years
earlier with the New Jersey Devils would win the Conn Smythe. However, his most
satisfying moment had to be handing the Cup to his younger brother Rob who was
winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in his career.
|
