Red Wings fans give Giguere a wake-up call

ANAHEIM, Calif. – “Jiggy” woke up after Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Western Conference finals and knew he had to play better. The reminder was right outside his window.

“The 5-0 game, I got toilet-papered at my home by Red Wings fans, so I thought, ‘I’ve got to raise my level here,’ ” Anaheim Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere said.

Since that loss, when he gave up three goals on 13 shots before being pulled in the second period, Giguere certainly has raised his playing level.

Evoking memories of 2003, when he was the playoffs MVP as Anaheim reached the Stanley Cup finals for the first time, Giguere has stopped 36 shots in each of the past two games to help the Ducks take a 3-2 lead over Detroit in the West finals.

They’ll try to wrap the series up tonight at home. Should the Red Wings win, the teams will return to Detroit for a deciding Game 7 on Thursday night.

Giguere ran his mark in overtime playoff games to 12-1 with Anaheim’s come-from-behind 2-1 victory in Game 5 in Detroit on Sunday, his second extra-time win of the series. He kept the Ducks in it until Scott Niedermayer scored with 48 seconds remaining in regulation, and Teemu Selanne won it 11:57 into overtime.

“Jiggy played fantastic for us,” defenseman Chris Pronger said.

Teammate Sean O’Donnell said Giguere is able to rise to the challenge.

“I think Jiggy is one of those players, once the stakes get higher, you either kind of crumble under the adversity or you raise your game and things seem to slow down for you,” O’Donnell said.