ANAHEIM, Calif. -Call him Jigger, Jigs, Jiggy.
By any name, Anaheim goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere is a key this postseason for the Mighty Ducks.
The Detroit Red Wings' coach called him "the difference."
Giguere, a sensation in the first-round sweep of Stanley Cup champion Detroit, hopes to keep it up in the second round against Dallas. The series will begin later this week, although days and times have not been announced.
"It's another chance for me to learn against another great team, get some more playoff experience," Giguere said Monday after practice, sweat still dripping from his stubble of beard. "I don't think they will take us lightly."
The Stars, the top-seeded team in the Western Conference, defeated No. 8 Edmonton in six games in their opening series. The No. 7 Ducks pulled off one of the league's biggest playoff upsets in years with their sweep of the No. 2 Red Wings, who had won three titles the past six years.
"Their goalie was the difference," Detroit coach Dave Lewis said.
The 25-year-old Giguere, appearing in his first NHL postseason, stopped 165 of Detroit's 171 shots in the four games, including two overtimes. He had 63 saves - a record for a goalie in his playoff debut - in Anaheim's 2-1 win in triple overtime in Game 1.
"He has been solid all season long," coach Mike Babcock said. "He has that little extra, that competitiveness, that soul that the special players have."
At the fourth and final game of the series against Detroit, an Anaheim fan held up a sign that read, "Jiggyland," a la Disneyland.
"In Canada, I was Jigger, Jigs, and when I got here, it was Jiggy," Giguere said. "It's all OK with me."
At 6-foot-1, Giguere seems a natural in net, usually in good position. That might be because he decided at a very young age - 5 - where he wanted to be on the ice.
"I wanted to have all that neat equipment that goalies get," he said. "Anyway, they usually put the youngest one out there in goal, and I was the youngest."
Grinning, Giguere said that as the youngest of five hockey-playing children, "I think I was born at the rink."
He grew up in Montreal, and when he was 9 became a devoted fan of Patrick Roy. At 20, Roy led the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup title and won his first Conn Smythe trophy as MVP of the playoffs.
"Every kid in Montreal pretended to be him in our games. That's what playoff games can do for you," Giguere said.
The Ducks' goalie, easygoing and quick to smile when he's off the ice, is very approachable, even on game days.
"For goaltenders, it may be easier to focus if you're not talking to people, but this is the way it works best for me," he said. "I just want to have fun every day, want to have fun playing hockey. It's a game. It is meant to be fun.
"Anyway, it's not going to be any good if you're all tensed up. I don't want to be all stressed out."
Teammate Paul Kariya appreciates Giguere's demeanor.
"He's relaxed and confident, and he's playing well and our winning has certainly contributed to that," Kariya said.
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By any name, Anaheim goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere is a key this postseason for the Mighty Ducks.
The Detroit Red Wings' coach called him "the difference."
Giguere, a sensation in the first-round sweep of Stanley Cup champion Detroit, hopes to keep it up in the second round against Dallas. The series will begin later this week, although days and times have not been announced.
"It's another chance for me to learn against another great team, get some more playoff experience," Giguere said Monday after practice, sweat still dripping from his stubble of beard. "I don't think they will take us lightly."
The Stars, the top-seeded team in the Western Conference, defeated No. 8 Edmonton in six games in their opening series. The No. 7 Ducks pulled off one of the league's biggest playoff upsets in years with their sweep of the No. 2 Red Wings, who had won three titles the past six years.
"Their goalie was the difference," Detroit coach Dave Lewis said.
The 25-year-old Giguere, appearing in his first NHL postseason, stopped 165 of Detroit's 171 shots in the four games, including two overtimes. He had 63 saves - a record for a goalie in his playoff debut - in Anaheim's 2-1 win in triple overtime in Game 1.
"He has been solid all season long," coach Mike Babcock said. "He has that little extra, that competitiveness, that soul that the special players have."
At the fourth and final game of the series against Detroit, an Anaheim fan held up a sign that read, "Jiggyland," a la Disneyland.
"In Canada, I was Jigger, Jigs, and when I got here, it was Jiggy," Giguere said. "It's all OK with me."
At 6-foot-1, Giguere seems a natural in net, usually in good position. That might be because he decided at a very young age - 5 - where he wanted to be on the ice.
"I wanted to have all that neat equipment that goalies get," he said. "Anyway, they usually put the youngest one out there in goal, and I was the youngest."
Grinning, Giguere said that as the youngest of five hockey-playing children, "I think I was born at the rink."
He grew up in Montreal, and when he was 9 became a devoted fan of Patrick Roy. At 20, Roy led the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup title and won his first Conn Smythe trophy as MVP of the playoffs.
"Every kid in Montreal pretended to be him in our games. That's what playoff games can do for you," Giguere said.
The Ducks' goalie, easygoing and quick to smile when he's off the ice, is very approachable, even on game days.
"For goaltenders, it may be easier to focus if you're not talking to people, but this is the way it works best for me," he said. "I just want to have fun every day, want to have fun playing hockey. It's a game. It is meant to be fun.
"Anyway, it's not going to be any good if you're all tensed up. I don't want to be all stressed out."
Teammate Paul Kariya appreciates Giguere's demeanor.
"He's relaxed and confident, and he's playing well and our winning has certainly contributed to that," Kariya said.
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