First look: Ducks vs. Edmonton

The emergence of a strong scoring line featuring rookie wing Dustin Penner, second-year wing Joffrey Lupul and veteran center Todd Marchant has eased some of the offensive burden on the Ducks’ top line of Teemu Selanne, Andy McDonald and Chris Kunitz. Edmonton has a deep collection of speedy, aggressive forwards that will test the Ducks’ defense. Left wing Ryan Smyth is tough to handle in the slot area, and center Shawn Horcoff has been strong in the regular season and the playoffs.

DEFENSE -- The Ducks have killed off 36 consecutive penalties. Overall, they lead all playoff teams with a 91% success rate. Much of the focus has gone to Scott Niedermayer and Francois Beauchemin, but the pairings of Ruslan Salei-Sean O’Donnell and Vitaly Vishnevski-Joe DiPenta have been quietly solid. Chris Pronger has been terrific in his first postseason with the Oilers. He is averaging more than 32 minutes a game, leads all defensemen in scoring with 12 points and has a plus-8 rating. Look for Jaroslav Spacek, Steve Staios and captain Jason Smith to log significant ice time.

GOALTENDING -- The Ducks, who rode the brilliance of Jean-Sebastien Giguere in 2003, have a new playoff hero in Ilya Bryzgalov. The 25-year-old Russian rookie has given up only seven goals in the 214 shots he has faced and leads all goalies in save percentage (.967) and goals-against (0.87). After losing his job in Minnesota, Dwayne Roloson has resurrected his season with the Oilers since coming in a March trade. Roloson outplayed Detroit’s Manny Legace and San Jose’s Vesa Toskala.

COACHING -- Randy Carlyle has been able to push the right buttons, and his decision to go with Bryzgalov over an ineffective Giguere has been a masterstroke. Craig MacTavish, who won three Stanley Cups with the Oilers as a tenacious two-way center, has built the team in his image. He has Edmonton in the conference finals for the first time since 1992.

ANALYSIS -- The Ducks could do little wrong in easily dispatching the Avalanche, but the Oilers, who won all four regular-season meetings with Anaheim, will present a far greater challenge given their team speed and the huge presence of Pronger on the blue line. The Ducks haven’t won a game at Rexall Place since 1999. Edmonton is a terrific third-period team, with a plus-22 goal advantage in the regular season and playoffs.