 Friesen fires into an empty net for the Devils' third goal |
The New Jersey Devils drew first blood in their best-of-seven Stanley Cup final, beating Anaheim Mighty Ducks 3-0. Martin Brodeur collected the shutout and Jeff Friesen added a pair of goals.
Brodeur was not overworked in earning his fifth shutout of the postseason facing just 16 shots.
His Ducks counterpart Jean-Sebastien Giguere was much busier, he was tested 30 times.
Grant Marshall scored New Jersey's other goal.
Making their first Stanley Cup appearance in the franchise's nine-year history, the Ducks appeared sluggish.
It was the first time they had played since eliminating the Minnesota Wild in the Western Conference final 10 days earlier.
Friesen broke open a scoreless contest 1:45 into the second period with his sixth of the playoffs.
Marshall added a second when he was left alone in front of a gapping net to slap home a pass from Patrik Elias.
Friesen then closed out the scoring with 21 seconds remaining, hammering the puck into an empty net.
Friesen said afterwards: "Playing my old team, that gave me some jump."
But Devils coach Pat Burns urged his team not to get too carried away.
He said: "In fairness to them [the Ducks], you could tell they had a little rust on their blades.
"But they'll get better as the series goes along."
MMIX
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