The Ottawa Senators don't really know the Anaheim Ducks, but that will change by the end of the Stanley Cup final.

The Senators took to the ice on Wednesday for a morning skate and acknowledged the size and skill of their opponents from southern California, but few had much to say in terms of familiarity.

Ottawa Senators Daniel Alfredsson (left to right), Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza listen to head coach Bryan Murray during a practice in Ottawa on Wednesday.
(Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)

"We played Anaheim at home last year," Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson said in recalling their last meeting.

"We kind don't really know what to expect and the first game is probably going to tell about what's going to happen throughout the series."

The Ducks, who advanced to the final by taking out the Detroit Red Wings in six games, won that game in January 2006 by a score of 4-3 via the shootout.

Prior to that, both teams don't have a wealth of head-to-head experience to draw from. Ottawa and Anaheim haven't faced each other this season and have only matched up twice since the 2002-03 season.

Players such as Ottawa defenceman Chris Phillips, who will likely be charged with shutting down one of Anaheim's top offensive lines with Anton Volchenkov, view that limited history as a positive.

"Maybe not playing them this year will help us focus on ourselves and the things we've been doing well," said Phillips.

Ottawa goaltender Ray Emery served as a backup to then starter Dominik Hasek in that last matchup between the two teams and admitted that his position likely requires a little more intimate knowledge of specific Anaheim players.

"I vaguely remember [the last] game and haven't seen a lot of them this year," said Emery. "Personally, I like to know a team. I'll do my best to brush up in the next couple of days, especially the skill guys.

"You get to know their tendencies by watching the tape and I'm sure they're getting the scouting report on me."

Senators head coach Bryan Murray should be the most familiar with the Ducks roster, as his time as senior vice-president and general manager in Anaheim saw him draft and acquire many of the players contributing to their current Cup run.

"If you've been around a little bit of time anyway, you run into people you either brought into an organization, coached or had some connection with before."

But much of the roster Murray helped build into a Stanley Cup finalist in 2003 has changed. Prospects he drafted or signed, such as Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Dustin Penner, have only started to make consistent contributions at the NHL level this season.

The Senators, however, can take some solace in the fact that the Ducks are equally unfamiliar but no less respectful of their opponents. 

"I haven't been watching their games," Ducks forward Teemu Selanne said shortly after his team's series-clinching win over the Detroit Red Wings. "They're sound all-around. I think it's going to be very exciting."

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final goes Monday night at the Honda Center in Anaheim (CBC, 8 p.m. ET).

With files from the Canadian Press