Stanley Cup finals

A first look at the Ottawa Senators-Ducks series:

DUCKS vs. OTTAWA

* How they match up: There isn’t one line that has played better in the playoffs than the Ottawa trio of Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson, who have combined for 23 goals and 58 points. Alfredsson, often the symbol of the Senators’ past playoff failures, has scored 10 goals to lead all players and it was his overtime goal in Game 5 against Buffalo that clinched this trip to the finals, the first for the expansion franchise. The Ducks have used more of a collective attack with Ryan Getzlaf leading an emerging dominant second scoring line and the shutdown unit of Samuel Pahlsson, Travis Moen and Rob Niedermayer provided a surprising amount of offense. Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer and Francois Beauchemin are the stars of the Anaheim defense, but the Senators’ blue line, led by Wade Redden and Chris Phillips, is much deeper overall.

* Goaltending: Ottawa’s Ray Emery took the job away from a struggling Martin Gerber at the beginning of the season. Emery has had a strong postseason with 12 wins and a 1.95 goals-against average after posting a solid 33-16-6 record during the regular season. But the 24-year-old’s resume doesn’t compare with the Ducks’ Jean-Sebastien Giguere. The Senators would be wise to not allow any game to reach overtime, where Giguere is 12-1 over two postseasons. Add that Giguere has made nearly every critical save he has had to make and the Ducks hold a significant advantage in goal.

* What to watch for: The Ducks’ penalty killing could be decisive since it appears they will just have to deal with their undisciplined ways. After allowing only three power-play goals in playoff wins over Minnesota and Vancouver, they were burned for nine against Detroit. Nine of the 23 goals from the Heatley-Spezza-Alfredsson line have come with the man advantage. Look for Ottawa defenseman Anton Volchenkov to try to make it difficult for the Ducks to get shots through from the point. Volchenkov had a NHL-high 273 blocked shots during the regular season. The Ducks’ young trio of Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Dustin Penner dominated the Red Wings in Game 6 Tuesday and their continued strong play is pivotal to the Ducks’ chances.

-- ERIC STEPHENS

SCHEDULE

Game 1: at Ducks Monday, Versus

Game 2: at Ducks Wednesday, Versus

Game 3: at Ottawa June 2, Ch. 4

Game 4: at Ottawa June 4, Ch. 4

Game 5: at Ducks June 6, Ch. 4*

Game 6: at Ottawa June 9, Ch. 4*

Game 7: at Ducks June 11, Ch. 4*

* if necessary