How They Match Up

Here’s a look at the Mighty Ducks and the Phoenix Coyotes, who start their Western Conference playoff series tonight at the Pond.

MIGHTY DUCKS LINES

9 Paul Kariya

44 goals, 55 assists

20 Steve Rucchin

19 goals, 48 assists

8 Teemu Selanne

51 goals, 58 assists

*

23 Brian Bellows

16 goals, 15 assists

54 Sean Pronger

7 goals, 7 assists

14 Joe Sacco

12 goals, 17 assists

*

13 Ted Drury

9 goals, 9 assists

24 Mark Janssens

2 goals, 6 assists

17 Jari Kurri

13 goals, 22 assists

*

22 Ken Baumgartner

0 goals, 11 assists

32 Richard Park

1 goal, 1 assist

16 Warren Rychel

10 goals, 7 assists

****

Defense Pairings

2 Bobby Dollas

4 goals, 14 assists

*

34 Dan Trebil

3 goals, 3 assists

*

15 Dmitri Mironov

13 goals, 39 assists

*

33 Dave Karpa

2 goals, 11 assists

*

29 Darren Van Impe

4 goals, 19 assists

*

36 J.J. Daigneault

5 goals, 23 assists

****

Goalies

31 Guy Hebert

29-25-12, 2.67 goals-against average

*

35 Mikhail Shtalenkov

7-8-1, 2.89 goals-against average

****

Coach Ron Wilson

Assistants Tim Army and Walt Kyle

****

Extra Forwards

12 Kevin Todd

27 Mike Leclerc

19 Shawn Antoski

52 Peter LeBoutillier (injured)

36 J.F. Jomphe (injured)

****

Extra Defense

28 Jason Marshall

PHOENIX COYOTES LINES

7 Keith Tkachuk

52 goals, 34 assists

*

15 Craig Janney

15 goals, 38 assists

*

22 Mike Gartner

32 goals, 31 assists

*

11 Dallas Drake

17 goals, 19 assists

*

77 Cliff Ronning

19 goals, 32 assists

*

97 Jeremy Roenick

29 goals, 40 assists

*

34 Darrin Shannon

11 goals, 13 assists

*

21 Bob Corkum

9 goals, 11 assists

*

19 Shane Doan

4 goals, 8 assists

*

17 Kris King

3 goals, 11 assists

*

14 Mike Stapleton

4 goals, 11 assists

*

33 Jim McKenzie

5 goals, 3 assists

****

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS

20 Oleg Tverdovsky

10 goals, 45 assists

*

27 Teppo Numminen

2 goals, 25 assists

*

4 Gerald Diduck

2 goals, 12 assists

*

8 Jim Johnson

3 goals, 7 assists

*

26 Jeff Finley

3 goals, 7 assists

*

10 Brad McCrimmon

1 goal, 5 assists

OR

6 Jayson More

1 goal, 7 assists

*

5 Deron Quint

3 goals, 11 assists

****

Goalies

35 Nikolai Khabibulin

30-33-6, 2.83 goals-against average

*

39 Pat Jablonski

0-1-0, 2.03 goals-against average

****

Coach Don Hay

Assistants Paul MacLean and Zinetula Bilyaletdinov

****

Extra Forwards

23 Igor Korolev

32 Jocelyn Lemieux (injured)

****

Extra Defense

36 Murray Baron (injured)

44 Norm Maciver

****

Extra goalie

43 Darcy Wakaluk

THE EDGE

OFFENSE

The Kariya-Rucchin-Selanne line accounted for 114 goals, most of any line in the league. But scoring drops off markedly after the first line. Kurri has 105 playoff goals.

Coyotes list of high-powered scorers goes far deeper. Tkachuk led the NHL with 52 goals, but Roenick, Gartner, Janney, Ronning and Drake can all come up big.

(EDGE-CHECK DUCKS)

****

DEFENSE

It takes a team concept--and commitment from the forwards--for the Ducks’ defense to succeed. Dollas and Trebil are the defensive backbone. Mironov and Daigneault are best on power play.

Tverdovsky is the All-Star but Numminen is the best all-around. Injuries are a problem with Baron, Maciver, Johnson, Finley, and McCrimmon.

(EDGE-CHECK DUCKS)

****

GOALTENDING

Can a rested Hebert be as sharp as he was during the Ducks’ race for the playoffs? If he’s at his best, edge goes to the Ducks.

When Khabibulin is good, he’s great. When he’s bad, Coyotes bring in the backup early. Capable of a string of shutouts or a disastrous game.

(EDGE-EVEN)

****

SPECIAL TEAMS

Power play’s No. 9 ranking is highest in team history. Penalty-killing ranked No. 22--best to stay out of the box against Phoenix.

Power play tied for fourth in NHL. Tverdovsky has a wizardry at the point he didn’t have while with the Ducks, and Tkachuk is immovable in front of the net. Penalty-killers rank No. 5.

(EDGE-CHECK COYOTES)

****

COACHING

Ron Wilson’s big-game reputation was made by the U.S. World Cup victory. This is his head coaching debut in the Stanley Cup playoffs, but he’s been there as a player and assistant.

Don Hay is finishing his first season as an NHL head coach, and was an assistant with Calgary for only one season. Led Canada’s junior team to World Championship in 1995.

(EDGE-CHECK DUCKS)

****

INTANGIBLES

Ducks have a 14-game unbeaten streak at the Pond and would play four games there in a seven-game series. But 12 players have never appeared in an NHL playoff game.

Twenty-three of Coyotes’ 38 victories came on the road. Their key players have considerably more postseason experience than the Ducks’.

(EDGE CHECK PHOENIX)

****

OVERALL

If Coyotes can’t thwart Kariya and Selanne, they can’t stop the Ducks. But they need disciplined defense and Hebert must be sharp despite the 3,863 minutes he’s already played.

If they can collar Ducks’ top line, Coyotes’ next three lines beat the Ducks’ next three. There’s no allowance for Khabibulin hitting one of his bad streaks.