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Giguere, Brodeur square off as Ducks host Devils

Nov 24, 2006 - 2:46 PM New Jersey (12-7-1) at Anaheim (15-2-6) 4:00 pm EST

ANAHEIM, California (Ticker) -- Jean-Sebastien Giguere made a name for himself the first time he faced Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils.

Giguere hopes to continue his recent stellar play Friday when the Ducks host the Devils in a matchup of division leaders.

The game constitutes a rematch of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals, when Giguere became the fifth player in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe Award playing for a non-winning team. The Ducks and Devils have played only once since then, a 3-3 tie on November 26, 2003.

After struggling last season and ultimately losing his starting job to Ilya Bryzgalov, Giguere has rebounded with a vengeance in 2006-07, going 12-1-5 with a .921 save percentage. He has been particularly brilliant of late, going 5-1-1 with two shutouts over his last eight games.

Anaheim hopes to bounce back from Wednesday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche.

Giguere made 41 saves in the losing effort while Teemu Selanne scored a power-play goal for the Ducks, who have dropped three of their last five games.

New Jersey also looks to atone for a setback on Wednesday, a 3-1 loss to the lowly Phoenix Coyotes.

Brodeur stopped 24 shots for the Devils, who went 0-for-6 on the power play and lost for just the second time in their last eight contests.