Ice hockey: Devils clinch Cup triumph

The New Jersey Devils captured their third Stanley Cup in nine years with a 3-0 defeat of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, clinching the best-of-seven series in the deciding game.

Goaltender Martin Brodeur broke a record with his seventh play-off shut-out and Jeff Friesen scored two more goals in New Jersey’s triumph.

Faced with the prospect of squandering a 3-2 lead in the championship finals for the second time in three years, the Devils relied on Brodeur, who bounced back from a sub-par effort in Game Six and recorded his third shut-out of the series.

Friesen again punished his former team with his fourth and fifth goals of the series.

But the game-winner was scored by rookie Michael Rupp, who also had a pair of assists in only his fourth career play-off game.

And for the third time in NHL history, the home team won all seven games in the Stanley Cup Finals.

New Jersey tied the record set by the 1984 Edmonton Oilers with their 12th home win of the play-offs.

The Devils also became the first team since the 1974 Philadelphia Flyers to capture the Stanley Cup with a losing road record in the play-offs.