HALF-EMPTY, HALF-FULL NO MATTER OUTCOME, CUP TO BRING JOY, PAIN TO NIEDERMAYERS.

Byline: Brice Nixon Staff Writer

NEW YORK - Scott Niedermayer might break his mother's heart.

All Carol Niedermayer wants is for her son Rob to have his name on the Stanley Cup just like his older brother, Scott, already does. She expressed that wish before the Finals began.

But two games into the Stanley Cup Finals, Scott Niedermayer is two victories closer to his third Cup with the New Jersey Devils. And Rob and the Mighty Ducks have had their playoff run turned upside down after looking like a team of destiny in winning the first two games in each of the first three rounds of the playoffs.

The Devils have calmly frustrated the Ducks the same way Anaheim did its first three playoff opponents. Devils goalie Martin Brodeur has seized the spotlight from counterpart Jean-Sebastien Giguere, reminding everyone who the preeminent playoff netminder is after shutting out the Ducks in the first two games.

But the real reason the Ducks are facing a deficit from which only three teams have come back is they have shown only brief flashes of the type of play that got them to the Finals. As good as the Devils are, the Ducks haven't put up much of a fight. Their competitiveness and ability to outwill and outwork their opponents was what got the Ducks to the Finals. And that's been outmatched by the Devils.

``They're doing a great job. They're making us frustrated,'' Ducks defenseman Kurt Sauer said. ``We need to get back to our game.''

That game, so far, has included little offense. The Ducks have put 16 shots on goal in each game. They have had four shots on goal in a period twice and had just two in the second period Thursday, though all of that stems from their play as a team.

The Ducks looked like they might make a game of it in the first period Thursday. But after the Devils scored early in the second period, it might as well have been the end of the game. The Devils' smart defense and quick counterattacks worked even better after they took the lead and the Ducks were forced to try to produce something. The Devils scored twice on their first four shots on goal in the second, including Scott Gomez's goal to make it 2-0.

``After Game 1 you could say to yourself, `Things weren't good,' '' Ducks coach Mike Babcock said. ``But (Thursday night) we got out-competed. To me, we have to fix that.''

The Ducks face tough odds but aren't ready to pack it in just yet.

``There's no doubt that we dug ourselves in,'' defenseman Kurt Sauer said. ``(But) I believe in these guys. We believe in ourselves.

``It's a race to four and nobody has four yet.''

No, but the Ducks will have to win four of the next five games to win the Stanley Cup. And only three times has a team lost the first two games of the Finals and come back to win: Toronto in 1942 and Montreal in '66 and '71.

The Ducks will have to start with a goal before they can think about that. They took some steps in the right direction in Game 2, but if they don't quickly make the leap to being the competitive team that looked much like the Devils do now, the series could be over before they even have a chance.

Rob Niedermayer has been the closest to resembling his pre-Finals self. If the rest of the Ducks can't get back to that, he could find himself losing to his brother and the Devils like he did with the Florida Panthers in the first round in 2000. Only, this time, the winner's name will be etched on the Stanley Cup.

GAME 3

Today at the Pond

5 p.m.

TV/Radio: ESPN/830-AM, 1540-AM

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) The Mighty Ducks' Rob Niedermayer, left, already has lost a playoff series to his brother, Scott Niedermayer, inset. The difference this time is that their teams are facing each other for the Stanley Cup, which Scott already has won twice but which has eluded Rob.

Associated Press

Photo illustration by Shane Michael Kidder

(3) The Mighty Ducks' Rob Niedermayer is attempting to win his first Stanley Cup against his brother, Scott, who has two.

Paul Chiasson/Associated Press