STANLEY CUP FINALS Surprising Anaheim is ready for New Jersey

The Mighty Ducks won just one playoff series before this year.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Paul Kariya is tired of hearing that his first trip to the Stanley Cup finals is going to be a boring, low-scoring affair.
How could it not being exciting? A perennial winner -- the New Jersey Devils -- against his upstart Anaheim Mighty Ducks.
The flashy forward has waited nine years for this moment, while wading through many losses as a longtime member of the Ducks.
"A great save or great goal is the same," Anaheim's captain said Monday. "It's the Stanley Cup finals and I'm sure everyone will be tuning in."
Normally at this time of the year, Kariya and the Ducks would be among the viewers. The Devils are used to being in the finals -- this is their third appearance in four years. Anaheim finished in last place in the Pacific Division in each of the previous three seasons.
On a roll
But tonight, the Mighty Ducks will live up to their name and take the ice for their first game in the Stanley Cup finals. Until this year, they had only won one playoff series. Now they are trying to join the 1995 Devils as clubs who've won four Game 1s on the road in the same year.
They already are the first to take 2-0 leads on the road in three straight playoff series, accomplishing that with sweeps over No. 2 Detroit and No. 6 Minnesota in the Western Conference. Only top-seeded Dallas managed to beat Anaheim at all in this year's playoffs, stretching the seventh-seeded Ducks to six games.
"It's been really important to get off to a good start in all the series," Kariya said. "We played well on the road all year long, and we feel confident if we execute our game plan that we have an opportunity to win each and every game."
Jean-Sebastien Giguere has really given them that chance by stopping 476 of 496 shots in the first 14 games of his playoff career. Jiggy has gone from obscurity to the couch next to Jay Leno, virtually overnight.
New Jersey's Martin Brodeur has been exceptional as well, posting a 1.62 goals-against average and a 12-5 playoff mark. The Devils are 8-1 at home, the Ducks are 6-1 on the road.
Ready to go
Anaheim's quick win over Minnesota in the Western Conference finals has given the Mighty Ducks much-needed rest and the chance to soak up more exposure like Giguere's venture into late-night television.
"I think it will help," Devils captain Scott Stevens said of the Ducks' time off. "At this time of year, when there is so much at stake, that doesn't really come into play."
New Jersey held a 3-1 series lead over the Presidents' Trophy-winning Senators, but dropped two straight before winning on the road. The Devils are banking on the experience they have with 15 Cup-winning players to carry them to their third championship in nine years.
"Experience is something you want to say you've learned from and that makes you better," Devils defenseman Scott Niedermayer said. "I think we have that, but there is a lot more to hockey than just having experience."
And there is a lot more to this series for the Niedermayer family. Scott, a two-time champion, is going up against his brother Rob, an Anaheim forward who is playing in his first Stanley Cup finals.
Scott has the experience of winning, Rob has the experience of seeing Scott bring home the famed trophy twice. Together they are the first opposing brothers in the finals since 1946.