MIGHTY DUCKS NOTEBOOK: ONE MORE ACHIEVEMENT ON ANAHEIM COACH'S MIND THIS YEAR.

Byline: Brice Nixon Staff Writer

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Win or lose today, Mike Babcock knows how much the Mighty Ducks have accomplished in his first year as head coach. They've taken the NHL season to its limit by forcing Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the New Jersey Devils.

``I can't express it enough how exciting it is to be with a group of guys that have tried this hard and come this far and been this impressive,'' Babcock said.

Of course he'd like to see them cap that by winning the Stanley Cup.

``Here's your last game of the year,'' Babcock said. ``You know it, and you would like to finish on a positive note.''

Babcock has never been involved in a Game 7 in his brief time as an NHL coach, but he has seen what it takes to win at other levels. And, like most of his coaching philosophy, the same applies at the NHL level.

``I have been involved in tons of series and lots of Game 7s and had real good teams and average teams,'' Babcock said. ``The thing I find is, if you're resilient and believe in yourself and believe in a foundation, that you have a chance to be successful.''

--Scoring leaders: Ducks left wing Paul Kariya has six goals after he ended a six-game drought Saturday. He is one goal shy of his career playoff high of seven, which he reached in 11 games in the 1997 playoffs. Center Steve Rucchin leads the team with seven goals after scoring two Saturday. He had only one goal in 12 career playoff games.

--Power up: The Ducks' two power-play goals Saturday were their first of the series. It ended an 0-for-9 drought.

--Nieuwendyk will try: Injured Devils center Joe Nieuwendyk will give it one more try today. He hasn't played in the series but will test his injured hip this morning in hopes it responds well enough that he can play in Game 7 without being a liability.

Brice Nixon, [phone]

brice.nixon(at)sgvn.com

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MIGHTY DUCKS vs. NEW JERSEY: Best-of-seven series tied 3-3