That's a good point. Imagine a prime Looch and Chara vs that Ducks team? What a war.
I remember Rich Pevs being quite the story. I hated the trade but he was a good performer if I am not mistaken.
I think this is the closest of all the round 1 matchups. Very tough call. I went Anaheim but it's really hard to justify when I look back on Tim Thomas' insane performances that year. He went super saiyan more than a few times.
Oddly enough, I barely remember Selanne being on the Ducks that year. I mostly remember that top pairing, and the two kids coming into their own.
Yeah, Peverley was a key factor for sure in that run. Both in helping the 3rd line play at a 1st/2nd line level and jumping up to Krejci's wing in the Finals when Horton went down.
It really is a coin flip.
The Ducks have the better top pair, but 1-6 it's a dead heat.
Goalies are a wash, both have a history of red hot playoffs and both have a Smythe.
The only potential advantage I saw, and even it is slight, was I think the Bruins have slightly stronger scoring depth. Mostly being able to run out a 2nd line of Bergeron-Marchand-Recchi and the 4th line of Thornton-Paille-Campbell being able to (and doing so in the playoffs) take a regular shift against top 6 lines. Even then it's not a big enough edge to make a definitive call between the 2 teams.
And with Chara, Lucic, Boychuk, Thornton, McQuaid, Horton the Bruins aren't going to be pushed around or bullied by Anaheim.