I know an article like this was in the newspaper this morning but I had planned on doing this anyways. Usually I think up my blog posts the night before as I'm falling asleep, thats when my creative juices flow the most.
Goaltending:
You don't get to the Stanley Cup final without an outstanding athlete between the pipes. Emery has done a good job for the Sens stopping an average of 20 pucks a game as apposed to Giguere's 35 (Both numbers an estimate). I give the nod to the Ducks because Giguere is simply better than Emery, he faces more shots and is the one who keeps the team alive every game.
the edge: Anaheim
Defense:
Once again both teams have excellent d-men. Volchenkov and Philips have really stepped it up and excel at shot blocking and shutting down the oppositions top players. But lets face the facts; Anaheim has the best two defensemen in the league anchoring the blueline in Pronger and Neidermayer. At pretty much any point in the game one of those two guys will be out on the ice. Beauchemin and O'Donnell also are huge.
the edge:Anaheim
Offense:Its hard to argue with the big 3 on the Sens; Alfie, Spezza, and Heatley. All three of these guys have sick offense skills and can also play defensively when asked. Alfredsson. After those three the talent dips off a little bit though. The Ducks on the other hand don't just have one line that can score as they spread it out over their top 3 lines. Getzlaf, Penner, and Perry are some of the games most exciting rising stars and will be in the NHL for a long time.
the edge: tie
Intangibles:
In the past few years the team from the East in the final has had to meet a team from the West who had just battled through 3 grueling often 7 game series against tough opponents who didn't have much in the tank by the final. While yes the Sens have only lost 3 games the Ducks have only lost 4. With such a big delay between the conclusion of the West Final and the Cup final, both teams will be well rested.
Neither team has won the Cup but the Ducks were only one win away from taking home the big prize in 2003. The Sens meanwhile have a history of choking in the playoffs, however they haven't done that yet this year.
the edge:tie
1 comment:
i would have to disagree with a few comments here. while anaheim does have an edge on defense (although besides phillips and volchenkov, wade redden and joe corvo have been great too) and overall giguere is the better goalie, on offense ottawa is much deeper than just the "big 3". mike fisher has been one of ottawas best players in these playoffs yet continues to be the most underrated player in the nhl, while dean mcammond and tom preissing have also stepped it up.
also, the sens are no longer the chokers theyve been the last few years. in every series theyve played in so far there were times when they should have choked but this years senators are on a mission and no matter how bad anaheim wants it, the sens want it more. GO OTTAWA!!! -ben m.
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