Alright hockey fans, the race for the best trophy in all of sports starts tonight.

The Anaheim (no longer "Mighty") Ducks square off against the Ottawa Senators, in what should prove to be a great series.

Both teams are blessed with great skaters, and we should see some exciting, fast paced hockey over the next two weeks.

Anaheim is the West's second seed, finishing the season with 110 points. Ottawa made it to the finals by securing the East's fourth seed, and garnering 105 points. Interestingly though, both teams had identical 48 Win 34 loss seasons... Ottawa, however, had less overtime/shootout losses (9 to 14) thus accounting for the point disparity.

Here's how I see the key match-ups of this series playing out:

Forwards:

Ottawa is led by the trio of Dany Heatley (50 goals 55 assists 105 points), Jason Spezza (34, 53, 87 in only 67 games) and Daniel Alfredsson (29, 58, 87). These high flying attackers all have a nose for the net and are great play makers as well. The speed and skill of these three forwards make Ottawa among the most exciting teams in the league.

Ottawa has additional depth at forward from Mike Comrie, Peter Schaefffer and Antoine Vermette. All are skilled two way players, who can back check and also score when necessary. Veteran Dean McAmmond (7 pts in the playoffs) has been a solid contributor since the NHL's second season has started.

Anaheim can not match the speed and skill of Ottawa's top line, but they have their own top flight forwards as well. Teemu Selanne (48 goals 46 assists 94 points) has been a bona fide NHL sniper for over fifteen years. The perpetually underrated Andy McDonald was Anaheim's second leading scorer in the regular season (27 51 78) and is among the top five passers in the NHL.

Anaheim has more depth at forward than Ottawa and has been getting key performances from their second group of forwards at playoff time. Ryan Getzlaf (13 pts in 16 playoff games), Sammy Pahlsson (10 pts in 16 playoff games) and Travis Moen (9 playoff points after only 21 points in the regular season) have all picked up their games since the regular season ended.

The Ducks also have the best defensive forward between the two teams in Todd Marchant. Marchant, a seasoned veteran, is skilled on the draw and is a plugger in the corners. Chris Kunitz and Corey Perry are two more up and coming forwards on the Ducks who should have an impact.

Edge: Although the Ducks have more depth, I would give the slight edge to the Senators in the forward category because of the skill of Heatley, Spezza and Alfredsson.

Defense:

The Senators have an underrated defensive unit led by Tom Preissing (+40 in the regular season) and Wade Redden (8 points +9 in the playoffs). Joe Corvo is another formidable blue liner who is a skilled trigger man on the power play. Stay at home defender, and former 1st overall pick, Chris Phillips is a solid, yet unspectacular contributor.

The Senators defenseman are a mostly defensive minded unit, who are happy to let their forwards lead the rush. They are not flashy but certainly get the job done as is evidenced by the fact that Ottawa allowed the third fewest goals in the Eastern conference, bested only by the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers.

The Ducks' defense corps is perhaps the best in all of the NHL. Two leaders of the Canadian National team lead the way for Anaheim. Scott Niedermayer (15 54 69) is perhaps the best skating defenseman in the NHL since Paul Coffey was lacing up his skates for Edmonton and Pittsburgh. And, Anaheim also has one of the top two defenseman in the NHL (along with Nick Lidstrom) in Chris Pronger. After being traded from Edmonton for Joffrey Lupul, Pronger made an immediate impact (13 46 59 in only 66 games with a team leading +27 rating). Pronger is an offensive force and his size helps make him a ferocious hitter as well. Frankie Beachemin and Sean O'Donnell are less flashy but also stellar defensemen for the Ducks.

Edge: The big edge among the defense corps goes to the Anaheim Ducks. While Corvo, Redden and Preissing are fine defensemen, Ottawa cannot match the likes of Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer.

Goaltending:

Former Sault Ste Marie Greyhound star Ray Emery has emerged as Ottawa's go-to goaltender this season. In his first full season as a starter, Emery posted very impressive stats (2.47 GAA .918 Save percentage) and has been even better in the playoffs (1.95, .919). Emery is an athletic goalie who moves well laterally. When he has time to set up, he is positionally solid if not spectacular. In an emergency, back-up Martin Gerber can be spectacular, but is wildly and maddeningly inconsistent.

The Ducks have one of the league's top goalies in Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Giguere was great in the regualr season (36-10 2.26 .918) and has been untouchable in the post season (1.87 GAA with an astounding .931 save percentage). Playoff success is nothing new for Giggy. In the 2003 playoffs he won the Conn Smythe award for most outstanding playoff performer despite playing on the losing team. Giguere is a buttefly goalie cut from the same cloth as fellow Quebecois Patrick Roy. Both are big goaltenders (Giggy standing at 6"1) who still cover a lot of ground when on their knees in the "style papillon." Giguere has quick pads and a quick glove, but if he does not have time to set, is a little bit susceptible to allowing a weaker goal high on the blocker side. Ilya Bryzgalov may be one of the three best back-up goalies in the league.

Edge: Emery has been great but may be playing slightly over his head. Giguere is battle tested and ready to shine in this series. The edge goes to the Ducks.

Prediction: Ottawa will make this a great series, but ultimately the skilled blue liners and net minders of Anaheim garner control of the Stanley Cup Finals. In a hotly contested six games, the Anaheim Ducks emerge victorious.

Anaheim in 6.