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Ducks open Stanley Cup Finals with Senators

May 28, 2007 - 1:34 PM Ottawa at Anaheim 8:00 pm EDT Stanley Cup Finals Game One

ANAHEIM, California (Ticker) - There isn't much recent history between the Anaheim Ducks and Ottawa Senators.

However, the teams will have the chance to create a rivalry when they open the Stanley Cup Finals on Monday.

The squads, each seeking their first Stanley Cup, did not meet in the 2006-07 regular season and haven't met since January 19, 2006, when Anaheim posted a 4-3 shootout victory at Ottawa.

Anaheim, which entered the NHL in 1993-94, has played in the Finals once before, losing in seven games to the New Jersey Devils in 2003. Unlike that appearance, the Ducks have home-ice advantage this time around.

This is the first Finals appearance for the modern-era version of the Senators, who entered the league as an expansion team in the 1992-93 season.

Ottawa is 12-3 this postseason, having disposed of all three of its playoff foes in five games. Anaheim has been equally efficient, going 12-4 this postseason and playing a sixth game just once - in the Western Conference finals against the Detroit Red Wings.

Senators' netminder Ray Emery has been in goal for every game this postseason and played very well, posting a 1.95 goals-against average. His Anaheim counterpart, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, has been just as good with a 9-3 postseason record to go along with a .931 save percentage and 1.87 GAA.

Current Ottawa coach Bryan Murray was the Ducks general manger in 2002-03 when they made their first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. Giguere, Rob Niedermayer, Andy McDonald and Samuel Pahlsson are the only Anaheim players who remain from that Stanley Cup run.