Posted by Gayle Simone, Sun Staff
The Stanley Cup Finals are finally set and allow me to get this out of the way right off the bat - dboisver you were right - Ottawa not only beat the Sabres but they man handled them. I really didn't expect the Sabres to go out like that - but hey, it takes a real woman to admit she was wrong and boy was I ever.
The Ottawa Senators will represent the Eastern Conference after defeating Buffalo 4 games to 1 in the Conference Finals.
The trio of Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza were simply phenomenal in the series as was goaltender Ray Emery to send the Senators to their first ever Stanley Cup appearance.
The Anaheim Ducks will represent the Western Conference after defeating Detroit 4 games to 2 in their Conference Finals.
The Ducks owe must of it to goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere who has posted a 1.78 GAA through the playoffs along with top point getters Chris Prongers, Temmu Selanne and Ryan Getzalf.
The Ducks went to the finals in 2003 (when they were still the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim) and lost to the New Jersey Devils by a score of 3-0 in the seventh game.
Both teams will be seeking their first Cup when the series opens Monday night in Anaheim. Each team had to win 12 games thus far and have four more to go to capture the most coveted trophy in all of sports. The question is which of the two teams will come out victorious?
The Senators will win if the amazing trio of Alfredsson, Heatley and Spezza stays healthy and continues to score at will; they have combined for 58 points (23 goals, 35 assists) throughout the playoffs and Emery has posted a 1.95 GAA.
The Ducks will win if Pronger, Selanne and Getzlaf (35 points; 12 goals, 23 assists) get more offensive help from the rest of their team, especially Scott Niedermayer and Andy McDonald who only had 2 assists each against the Wings. Their defense also has to figure out how to stop the Senators who have scored 10 more goals than the Ducks in their run to the finals.
My prediction Ottawa in 5. I underestimated this team in the Eastern Conference Finals, I won't make that mistake again.
Either way I can not wait until Monday night. The latest date Lord Stanley can be hoisted is June 11 and that's only if the series goes the full seven games.
What do you think? Will Ottawa or Anaheim win? How many games will the series go? Will you tune in to watch some of the games?
Comments (2)
First of all- thanks for the props on my selection of Ottawa to defeat Buffalo :-)
I think this will be a tough series and may go the full distance. Anaheim had a much easier time with Detroit than I thought and even managed to get by a suspension of Pronger for a game so they are not a team to take lightly (not that I am saying you are taking them lightly or anything).
If Ottawa is able to keep their level of play up where it has been they do have a good shot of winning the series but I really do see this series so even that you can almost flip a coin to make a pick.
I'll be rooting for Ottawa but it's so close to call that I'll say Anaheim in 7 games just because the 7th will be in SoCal. Should be fun to watch!
Posted by dboisver | May 23, 2007 9:25 AM
Posted on May 23, 2007 09:25
Don't worry Gayle. It's OK to be wrong. I've done it 327-times and counting, and they still let me write here...LOL!
Posted by Teddy P. | May 23, 2007 1:46 PM
Posted on May 23, 2007 13:46