Giguere Doesn’t Waste Opportunity

It was a year ago that the Mighty Ducks benched goalie Guy Hebert, and later released him, and gave Jean-Sebastien Giguere a chance. He did not squander it.

Giguere has become the bedrock that Duck management hopes to build around. Among goalies who have played at least 20 games before Wednesday, he ranks behind only Colorado’s Patrick Roy with a 2.04 goals-against average and is fourth in the league with a .922 save percentage.

“I’m really happy when I look at my stats,” Giguere said. “But I don’t live for my stats. My goal was to get one full season under my belt, which I have never done before in the NHL. I really want to finish strong and get that goal.”

That’s seems a given now. Giguere might have been a question last season, as he had only 33 NHL games behind him. He has been the answer in net.

The Ducks had only Hebert as their starting goalie from their 1993-94 expansion season until last season. When Hebert’s play deteriorated rapidly during the 1999-2000 season, they needed to find a fix. They acquired Giguere from Calgary for a second-round pick in June 2000 and he has panned out.

Giguere started 24 of the final 25 games last season.

“He’s an example of a young goaltender that has taken a little bit of time to get there, but he’s reaching a point in his career now that he is comparable to all the good goaltenders in the league,” Coach Bryan Murray said.

An improved Duck defense has certainly helped Giguere and is a big reason why the team ranked 10th out of 30 teams in goals-against before Wednesday’s game. The Ducks were 22nd last season.

“If you get confidence in your goalie, it’s a huge thing, that’s all you need,” defenseman Ruslan Salei said. “I think he is playing unbelievable. You just know he’s going to make that save when you need it the most.”

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Paul Kariya played his 500th NHL game Wednesday against Philadelphia.... Center Steve Rucchin, who has missed 40 games because of an ankle injury, joined the team briefly at the end of Wednesday’s morning skate. Murray said Rucchin would return after the Olympic break.

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Chris Foster