Finally! Game 1 Tonight

The Senators battle the Ducks in Orange County at The Pond. 8PM start time on VERSUS and VERSUS HD. Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk with the call.

Check out my preview, including a further look at Elgin Alexander Fraser, at SFM

For more Finals coverage, including BoNY Friend Greg Wyshynski's liveblog of Game 1, head to the NHL Fanhouse over at AOL

Here's our friend Earl Sleek from Battle of California with an exclusive look at why the Ducks DESERVE to win this series:

Why the Ducks deserve Lord's Stanley's Cup

On a personal level, we have Teemu Selanne, playing in his first cup finals at age 37. Teemu has been a tremendous story for the league, starting from his 76-goal rookie performance, to his winning the inaugural Rocket Richard trophy, to his international scoring for Team Finland, to the Masterson resurgence of last year. He has been heavily checked, cut up, and bruised this playoff year, but he can't hide the excitement of playing for the ultimate prize.

Add to that J.S. Giguere, Chris Pronger, Rob Niedermayer, and Sammy Pahlsson, four veteran NHLers who have all fallen one game short of Lord Stanley's Cup, only to watch another team savor it.

From a team perspective, Brian Burke and Randy Carlyle deserve a Cup for their aggressive and no-nonsense approach to team-building, especially for a team whose budget puts them significantly below the salary cap ceiling. They have incorporated talented kids in with talented veterans, providing clearly defined roles and a hard-working attitude. The team architects are certainly cup-worthy.

Anaheim fans have endured the mockery of all "legitimate" hockey fans throughout their first decade, and have watched a team fight its way through early (necessary) playoff defeats—the team has lost in all four rounds of the playoffs. No team on the left coast has ever won a Cup, somewhat thanks to travel disadvantages; should hockey's ultimate prize finally extend coast-to-coast, it should mean promising things for the health of the Anaheim hockey market and the whole western continent as well.
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Thank you very much Earl, for even more info check out our linemate sites Battle of California and Battle of Ontario

Enjoy the game everybody!