Ottawa gains an edge with Canada’s fans

Edmonton failed to do it last year and Calgary fell short in 2004. Now the pressure is on the Ottawa Senators to end Canada’s 14-year drought in the Stanley Cup finals.

“There’s been a lot made of that and that’s natural for those things to evolve when you have a Canadian franchise that’s playing,” said Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle, whose team will play Ottawa for the Cup in the series starting Monday at Honda Center. “That’s a rally cry for the country. That’s fine.

“But it’s well documented,” Carlyle added, “that we have more Canadians in our lineup than they do.”

Even though most Canadians still believe that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens represent the country more than Ottawa, support for the Senators has grown among the country’s hockey fans in recent years.

Decima Research surveyed just over 1,000 Canadians between May 17 and 20. In one group, considered “hard-core” fans, 27% chose the Maple Leafs as Canada’s team, 26% picked the Senators and 23% went with the Canadiens. With the poll’s margin of error at 3.1%, Ottawa comes out looking good.

“It’s pretty special to play a Canadian team in the finals,” said Ducks forward Travis Moen, who grew up in Canada on his family’s 3,500-acre cattle and grain farm in Stewart Valley, Saskatchewan.

“Being out here in California, we’ve been playing teams from Canada all year, so we’re kind of used to that. But this is a little different. The attention placed on the finals does that.”

Ducks forward Ryan Getzlaf agreed, adding that, “It’s been great” dealing with the hype surrounding this year’s finals.

“A lot of support coming from everywhere,” he said. “It’s great to see that from family and friends back home. There’s that much interest in the game.”

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At 36, Ducks right winger Teemu Selanne will be the oldest player in this year’s Cup finals -- a distinction that doesn’t bother him.

“There were many times I’ve wondered if I would ever get a chance to play in the finals,” said Selanne, who set an NHL record for rookies with 76 goals and 132 points playing for the Winnipeg Jets in 1992-93.

“It was the system.... You get drafted by a team that doesn’t have chance to win. What can you do until you are a free agent? When I came in the league, the free agent age was 35, I think.”

And that makes this series special for Selanne.

“I’m very happy to be in this situation,” he said. “I learned in my one year in Colorado that you can try and find real happiness. [But] it has to come naturally.”

Selanne also does not have a problem with being a sentimental favorite for the Cup this year.

But things can get quirky. Paul Kariya, Selanne’s former linemate when both were with the Ducks, recently called but couldn’t reach him. And after the Ducks’ victory over Detroit in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals, Selanne was greeted by a hallway filled with Finnish supporters.

“Paul tried to call me yesterday, but I wasn’t available,” he said. “When I call him, he’s surfing.”

And Selanne’s postgame fans?

“Those were Honda dealers from Finland,” he said with a laugh. “I did not know those people.”

lonnie.white@latimes.com