ANAHEIM DUCKS RIGHT WING #8 TEEMU SELANNE - FILE PHOTO
Eric McErlain of
Offwing,
AOL, and
NBCsports, previewed the Anaheim Ducks vs Ottawa Senators Stanley Cup Finals this weekend for
Deadspin.com.
McErlain discussed Ottawa's bankruptcy filing to President's Trophy run in 2002-03, the stability brought in by new owner and pharmaceutical magnate Eugene Melnyk, goaltender Ray Emery fight with an opponents enforcer, and the successful moves made by general manager John Muckler to bring in Dany Heatley, and defenseman Joe Corvo and Tom Preissing.
On the Anaheim Ducks side, McErlain posted about the loss of the "Mighty" adjective, the move from Disney ownership to Anaheim businessman Henry Samueli, the effect of general manager Brian Burke's "outsized personality" on the franchise, and the move that put the Anaheim Ducks in the Stanley Cup Finals, the acquisition of Chris Pronger. Pronger, coincidentally, willed the Edmonton Oilers into the Stanley Cup Finals one year earlier.
Eric also
highlights the key matchups of the series:
While the Senators have held a physical edge in every series thus far in the playoffs, they're going to meet their match in an Anaheim team that's gotten used to running their opponents off the ice. In that light, I can't help but to expect this series to become a game of attrition, with Ottawa's depth both up front and on the blue line to exact a toll on a Ducks team that may rely too much on Pronger, Scott Niedermayer and Beauchemin -- a trio that regularly puts in 30 plus minutes a night during the playoffs.
The next critical matchup has to be Ottawa's top line of Heatley, Alfredsson and Spezza against Anaheim's checking line of Travis Moen, Rob Niedermayer (too many Niedermayers!) and Sami Pahlsson. Simply put, we're looking at the best scoring line in the league against the best checking line in the league. Given that Ottawa's trio have been just about the surest bet in the postseason, my best guess is that things aren't going to change now. But if they fail, I'm not sold on the ability of Ottawa's other three lines to pick up the slack.
The bottom line is that this is Anaheim's series to win or lose. The Ottawa Senators are more potent offensively than any team the Ducks have faced in the playoffs, and they have a dangerous power play, but the Stanley Cup Finals will turn on whether or not Anaheim can hold it together 5-on-5 and stay out of the penalty box. With a penchant for costly mistakes, meltdowns, and team-wide self destruction, the Anaheim Ducks can not afford Ottawa the opportunities it gave away in the Western Conference Finals to Detroit.
[Update]
The Finish Line: A look at the road to the Stanley Cup Final - OC Register.
[Update2]
Ducks ready to climb the biggest step;
They have talked all season about winning the Stanley Cup, and Monday they begin playing for it when they face the Senators. - Los Angeles Times.
Products of the NHL's expansion in the 1990s, the Ducks and Senators may not be the desired big-market matchup from a ratings standpoint, but they bring the possibility of a long, entertaining series because both are willing to push the action.
The Ducks are in the Cup finals for the second time in four seasons, but this version hardly resembles the 2003 group that shocked the hockey universe. That team might have had goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, but there was no Pronger, Scott Niedermayer or Teemu Selanne...
Ottawa isn't only playing for its first Cup since the franchise's first incarnation (it last won a Cup in 1927). Save for diehard Toronto Maple Leafs fans, the Senators have an entire nation behind them.
It is always the Maple Leafs fans.
