All systems go: the Ducks are proving that any defensive scheme can work--theirs is built on speed--if you combine it with a strong will (and a hot goalie). (NHL).

Normally affable Mighty Ducks coach Mike Babcock looks uncomfortable and annoyed. Asked if his system brought down Goliath--better known as the Red Wings--Babcock tenses and practically spits out his words.

"It had nothing to do with our system," he says. "Players win--not systems."

These days, the intimation is simple: Teams that don't have the talent to win use a system--a defensive system, in particular, that uses five players to clog up the neutral zone and cling desperately to a one-goal lead. It's the kind of system that sucks the life, beauty, speed and playmaking out of hockey.

The Ducks, whose system has been described as a neutral zone trap, had no business beating the Red Wings, never mind sweeping them. Thus, it must have been system over talent.

"I think that's a real simplistic way to look at it," Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello says. "There were a lot of factors, and you had a goaltender who played incredibly well."

Jean-Sebastien Giguere was phenomenal in the series against the Wings, posting a 1.24 goals-against average and .965 save percentage.

"His positioning is good, and he doesn't get frustrated," former NHL goaltender Kelly Hrudey says. "I really admire a person like him who can come in and play, outshining the Detroit Red Wings, and doing it with such class and composure."