Goaltender for the MVP: Most Valuable Position

Forget what you may have heard, the most important position in team sports is NHL goaltender.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere’s impressive performance for the Mighty Ducks in their 2-1, triple-overtime victory over Detroit confirmed that Thursday. If Giguere, who made 63 saves in his first playoff game, had been anything short of remarkable, the defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings would have won.

But because Giguere was on top of his game, the Ducks take a 1-0 lead today into Game 2 of their best-of-seven, first-round series at Joe Louis Arena. Giguere’s the main reason Anaheim cannot be overlooked as a title contender.

In baseball, a pitcher can make a difference, but not in every game. In football, a good quarterback is crucial, but a team can still win with an average one.

But in hockey, if your goaltender is suspect, chances are, so is your team. And if your goalie is standing on his head (hockey term for hot), a run to the Stanley Cup Finals is not out of the question. It has happened many times.

Detroit’s Roger Crozier and Montreal’s Ken Dryden and Patrick Roy each were young, untested goalies who led middle-of-the-pack teams to the Stanley Cup Finals and won the Conn Smythe Trophy for the most valuable player of the playoffs. Crozier did it in 1966, Dryden in 1971 and Roy in 1986.

A breakdown of Game 2:

Detroit’s move--Don’t expect the Red Wings to panic because they’re down. It’s not their style. In the first round a year ago, Detroit lost two home games to Vancouver before winning four in a row. Expect the Red Wings to try to do the same thing they did against the Canucks and goalie Dan Cloutier -- get more traffic in front of the net.

In Game 1, the Red Wings did an excellent job of launching shots at Giguere. They attempted 36 shots after regulation, including 20 in the first overtime. But Giguere was even better at making the first stop cleanly and not leaving many rebounds for Detroit’s opportunistic skaters.

Versatility has always been a major strength for the Red Wings, who will have to turn to their grittier style against the Ducks. On Thursday, Detroit Coach Dave Lewis did not give enough ice time to hard-nosed, defensive-minded forwards Tomas Holmstrom, Darren McCarty and Kris Draper, who each played less than 26 minutes. Former Red Wing coach Scotty Bowman showcased his grinders in the playoffs.

Lewis relied too heavily on main guns Brendan Shanahan and Sergei Fedorov, who both played more than 31 minutes. It was Shanahan who played a key role in the Ducks’ first goal on Thursday. After getting stripped of the puck by Petr Sykora in Detroit’s zone, Shanahan failed to keep a body on Adam Oates, who beat him to a rebound to tie the score at 1-1 late in the first period.

It couldn’t hurt the Red Wings to play veterans Igor Larionov and Luc Robitaille more. Neither played more than 21 minutes and Robitaille was limited to only 16:36. Remember, he almost ended the game in the first overtime with a shot off the crossbar.

Ducks’ move--First-year Coach Mike Babcock deserves a lot of credit for having his team ready to play in the franchise’s first playoff game since 1999. The Ducks were anything but jittery as they refused to back down against Detroit’s charges, which came one after another.

One group that needs to again play strong will be the Ducks’ blue-liners. Led by dependable Keith Carney, who logged an exhausting 44:19 in Game 1, Anaheim’s defensemen stuck to the Red Wings. Underrated players such as Niclas Havelid and Kurt Sauer were not afraid to stick their noses into the action. Even Sandis Ozolinsh was throwing his body around to keep players from the net.

On offense, the Ducks have to be able to keep the puck in the Red Wings’ zone longer than they did Thursday. The Ducks, who were limited to 13 shots in nearly 44 minutes of overtime play, have to be more aggressive attacking goaltender Curtis Joseph and take the play to the older Red Wings, who may be worn down from Game 1.