PEAKING DUCKS FIRST-PERIOD GOALS BY RUCCHIN, THOMAS HELP ANAHEIM FORCE GAME 7.

Byline: Brice Nixon Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - The Mighty Ducks made clear they weren't going to go down without a fight.

One game after a potentially deflating loss, the Ducks forced a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Finals by jumping on top of the New Jersey Devils early in a 5-2 victory Saturday in front of a sellout 17,174 at the Pond. The Devils' big 6-3 win in Game 5 Thursday gave them a 3-2 lead in the series, but the Ducks came back with a similarly big victory.

Steve Rucchin scored twice in the first 12 minutes and Steve Thomas added a power-play goal as the Ducks took a 3-0 lead by the end of the first period and left no doubt they were going to keep the Devils from taking the Stanley Cup home with them.

``You can't dream of anything more than one chance to win the Stanley Cup in Game 7,'' Rucchin said. ``It doesn't get much better than that.''

The home team has won each game of the series, which of course means the Ducks haven't won in New Jersey, the site of Game 7. They haven't even come close in the three games at Continental Airlines Arena.

``We can't play any worse than we've played,'' Ducks coach Mike Babcock said. ``We've got to be due for a good one.''

That hasn't been the case at the Pond. The series has been up and down in favor of the home team, and the Ducks continued that trend. New Jersey coach Pat Burns even pulled goalie Martin Brodeur with the Ducks up 5-1 in the third period.

``They were the far better team on the ice,'' Burns said.

It started with Rucchin's goal less than five minutes into the game. After getting admittedly outworked in Game 5, all the Ducks wanted was to give themselves another chance. They took care of that early, and captain Paul Kariya provided what Thomas called an ``inspiring'' boost when the Devils tried to get back in the game.

Rucchin skated right into his first goal. He jumped on the ice and went right into the path of Kariya's cross-ice pass, which deflected off the Devils' John Madden and back to Rucchin at the blue line. Rucchin's shot deflected off New Jersey defenseman Scott Stevens and in.

Rucchin scored again with 6:18 left and Thomas scored two minutes later, putting in a rebound after Kariya's shot went off the post.

``Their first goal was probably the one that really hurt us,'' Burns said. ``Then it seems ... to get the ball rolling. (We) did the same thing last game. We got a couple and all of a sudden the ball rolled our way. Tonight they had it going their way.''

The Devils cut the Ducks' lead to 3-1 on Jay Pandolfo's goal early in the second period.

Kariya left the ice after a shoulder-to-jaw hit from Devils defenseman Scott Stevens six minutes into the period left him lying motionless on the ice for a brief period. He reaffirmed the Ducks' control when he gave the Ducks a 4-1 lead less than eight minutes after he returned to the bench, beating Brodeur with a blistering slap shot from the top of the left faceoff circle.

``What a sign of leadership right there to come back after that and score that goal,'' Rucchin said. ``What a huge goal. I just can't say enough about that play.''

It was Kariya's first goal in the series and ended a six-game goal-scoring drought. But he was more concerned about helping the Ducks stay alive in the series.

``That's my job, to produce offensively,'' he said. ``I haven't been doing it very well in this series, so I wanted to help the team and solidify the win.''

Brice Nixon, [phone], Ext. 2239

brice.nixon(at)sgvn.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) Paul Kariya (9) celebrates with his teammates after scoring in the second period of the Ducks' 5-2 victory.

Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press

(2) Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere joyously lifts his arms in the closing seconds of Saturday's victory which forced the series to a seventh game.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Box:

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(2) GAME RECAP