NHL Jeff's Stanley Cup Final Prediction

Click here for the full Round 4 Schedule.

NHL Jeff's take on the Final Match-Up:
Stanley Cup Finals

(2) Anaheim Ducks vs. (4) Ottawa Senators

Regular Season Series: None

ANA Key Players: J.S. Giguere (G), C. Pronger, S. Niedermayer, T. Selanne, "The Kid Line," F. Beauchemin, A. McDonald, S. Pahlsson

OTT Key Players: D. Alfredsson, D. Heatley, J. Spezza, R. Emery (G), A. Volchenkov, W. Redden

So, the time is finally here, the Stanley Cup Finals. Obviously, both of these teams have played so well throughout the playoffs, this is a really tough one to predict. One would think that if the Alfredsson-Spezza-Heatley line can maintain their scoring touch that the Senators have the edge, especially when you add the superb defense they've gotten and the solid goaltending of Ray Emery, although, due to the strength of the D, I don't think Emery has seen the kind of quality shots and number of shots that he will see against the Ducks. This will be his ultimate test. Daniel Alfredsson has finally risen to the levels of play and leadership that were expected of him, and he is a top candidate for the Conn Smythe (playoff MVP) Trophy. It is extremely important to take note that the one game in the last series in which Buffalo beat Ottawa, for the first time in the playoffs, the Sens' top line was finally shut down; their not being allowed onto the scoresheet is obviously such a huge part of beating this team. As an aside, Ottawa coach Bryan Murray was the previous GM of the Ducks and was instrumental in obtaining many pieces of the team's puzzle. He knows the team very well, which could be an interesting advantage, but it was not one that seemed to help the Ducks' former head coach and current head in Detroit, Mike Babcock.

So, onto the Ducks. J.S. Giguere has been absolutely superb for Anaheim thus far and is also a leading Conn Smythe Candidate. In at least (and I stress at least) 2 or 3 of the wins against the Wings in the conference final, Giguere was the reason the Ducks had a chance of winning, and they often were lucky to put the puck in at the other end to make Giguere's work worthwhile. Ryan Getzlaf and Cory Perry really stepped up their offensive game, and Dustin Penner, the other member of the kid line was also solid. Teemu Selanne found a way later in the series to finally hit the net and it definitely paid off (see his beautiful move on Dominik Hasek in OT to win game 5--the turning point in the series). The most significant thing made apparent about Anaheim in the previous round is that everyone of their lines can contribute both on offense and defense. The checking line of Rob Niedermayer, Travis Moen, and Sami Pahlsson, as always, remained a huge defensive asset, but also majorly contributed on offense. Oh, and let's not forget that along with solid top-4 D-men Francois Beauchemin and Sean O'Donnell, the Ducks have 2 of the 3 best defensemen in the league in Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer, who, playing injured (foot), by the end of the last series seemed to have finally returned to form. The Ducks also showed a lot of character in winning game 4 without Pronger, their leading scorer who was suspended for one game. The Red Wings did expose the Ducks as a team that can be somewhat streaky during games and that they are beatable when those times are capitalized upon.

If their big guns play like the stars they are and Ray Emery excels on this test of epic proportions, Ottawa could hold the cards in this series, but If the Sens' top line falters, and their other lines can't return to their regular season production totals, look for weaknesses in Ottawa's team to finally be made apparent. If the Ducks play like they did during the first 2 periods of game 6 of their previous series they will be incredibly tough to beat, even for Ottawa, but if they fall flat at any time during the series, look for Ottawa to expose their weaknesses.

Really, this could go either way. It is such a close series, and I will have no less confidence in my analysis skills if the Sens win, but I am thinking that Coach Randy Carlyle will keep the Ducks disciplined and on target while Pronger and Niedermayer, with a lot of help from defensive forward Sami Pahlsson and the rest of the Anaheim squad, finally find a way to slow down Ottawa's top line.

Prediction: Ducks in 7.