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Selanne's Ducks square off with Sabres in Finland

Oct 7, 2011 - 3:03 PM (Sports Network) - The Anaheim Ducks and Buffalo Sabres will begin their 2011-12 regular seasons overseas, as the clubs are set to meet today at Hartwell Arena in Helsinki, Finland.

The Ducks and Sabres are among the four NHL teams that will start their seasons in Europe. The New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings are playing today in Stockholm, Sweden. On Saturday, Buffalo and the Kings will meet in Berlin, Germany, while the Rangers and Ducks are slated to battle each other in Stockholm.

Anaheim has the two most recognizable Finnish players on its roster in forwards Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu. Buffalo, meanwhile, has Finnish forward Ville Leino, who signed a six-year, $27 million deal with the Sabres in the offseason.

Selanne is the NHL's all-time leader in goals (637) by a Finnish player and the 41-year-old is still a formidable offensive weapon, having recorded 80 points in 73 games for Anaheim last year.

Both Anaheim and the Sabres were playoff teams in their respective conferences last year and both clubs suffered first-round losses last spring. The Ducks were eliminated in six games by Nashville, while the Sabres lost in seven games to Leino and the Philadelphia Flyers.

Buffalo hopes to be a much-improved team this season. In addition to Leino, the Sabres also signed defenseman Christian Ehrhoff to a 10-year, $40 million deal and acquired fellow blueliner Robyn Regehr in a trade with Calgary this summer. Ehrhoff and Regehr join the 21-year-old Tyler Myers to form what should be a deeper blue line in front of star goaltender Ryan Miller.

Not only does Anaheim have elder statesmen Selanne back for at least one more year, the Ducks also boast one of the most potent lines in the NHL with centerman/captain Ryan Getzlaf and wingers Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan. Big statistical years are expected from all three players and especially Perry, who is coming off a season that saw him win the Hart Trophy as league MVP after leading the NHL with 50 goals.

The biggest question mark for Anaheim heading into the season is goaltender Jonas Hiller, who missed a big chunk of last year, including all of the playoffs, with vertigo. Hiller is said to be back to normal and is expected to start today's game.

Hiller is 2-0 with a 3.00 goals-against average in two career outings against the Sabres, while Miller is 1-2 with a 2.49 GAA lifetime versus the Ducks.

In other news, Sabres forward Jason Pominville will make his debut as the team captain today after getting awarded the "C" on Thursday. The club also tabbed Thomas Vanek, Drew Stafford, Paul Gaustad and Derek Roy as alternates.

The Ducks had won four straight in the series against Buffalo before the Sabres ended that slide with a 5-2 home win over Anaheim last season.