Excelling at Checkpoint of Attack

The Mighty Ducks gave the Devils too much time, too much space and too much respect during the first two games of the Stanley Cup finals. Then the Ducks gave the Devils an up-close look at the Arrowhead Pond glass in Game 3, sending them to a 3-2 overtime defeat Saturday.

“We got a lot more bumps on their defensemen because we were moving our feet,” said winger Steve Thomas, who delivered two molar-rattling checks to New Jersey defenseman Scott Stevens and was part of a re-energized third line.

“We got some licks on their defensemen and tried to keep them back on their heels. No one wants to go into the corner after the puck with a guy bearing down on you. I don’t care who you are.”

The Ducks’ plan isn’t necessarily to run the Devils out of the building with physical play, but they’d rather be delivering checks than receiving them. Skating more purposefully in Game 3, the Ducks managed to stay on the offensive.

“It was pretty evident in the first two games that we were a step behind,” center Steve Rucchin said. “It’s tough to win when you don’t have the puck. We looked a lot more comfortable [Saturday] night skating with them.... [Physical play] isn’t necessarily a game plan of ours, but in the first two games we weren’t getting to them. [Saturday] night, we didn’t give them time and space.”

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New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur’s second-period puck-handling blunder, which led to the Ducks’ second goal, was still a topic of discussion during Sunday’s session with reporters at the Ducks’ Anaheim training facility.

“I was pretty excited about the goal,” Duck goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere said. “I can sympathize with him. I’m sure Marty will bounce back. He won’t let it bother him.”

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Just as Marc Chouinard will forever be known as the other player the Ducks received from Winnipeg in the Feb. 7, 1996 trade for Teemu Selanne, Samuel Pahlsson will always be known as the man Colorado traded to get Ray Bourque from Boston on March 6, 2000.

“Maybe that’s something I could tell my kids about someday,” Pahlsson said with a grin.

The Ducks acquired Pahlsson from Boston in November 2000 for Andrei Nazarov and Patrick Traverse, neither of whom could carry Bourque’s briefcase. After a few trials and tribulations, he has become a dependable third-line center.

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Adam Oates’ assist on Ruslan Salei’s winning goal Saturday moved him into a tie with Joe Sakic and Doug Gilmour for the most overtime points in NHL playoff history. Oates, Sakic and Gilmour each have nine points, one more than Wayne Gretzky, Brett Hull and Brian Skrudland.

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As expected, the Ducks signed prospects Igor Pohanka and Joel Stepp, beating a 2 p.m. Sunday deadline. If they had failed to sign the two centers, Pohanka and Stepp would have been returned to the draft.