SAN JOSE, CA – The San Jose Sharks (53-18-11) finished the season with the best record in the league and set a franchise record in total points (117) for the third consecutive season. This marks their fifth consecutive run at the coveted Stanley Cup. Now the slate is wiped clean again and the post-season excitement commences.
Photo by Jack Lima
The Anaheim Ducks (42-33-7) were in a tight race for the top eigh finish in the Western Conference. There were six teams separated only by a single point, vying for the bottom three positions at one time. The Ducks earned their fourth consecutive appearance in the playoffs and have been hot going down the stretch with 10-2-1.
This will mark the first time in forty years that two California NHL teams meet in the playoffs. The last time was the Los Angles Kings against the Oakland Seals in the 1969 Quarterfinals (the Kings won the series 4-3).
The Sharks and Ducks have a long-standing rivalry. When meeting head to head, they are tied at 41-41-8. This first round series will be heated, physical and exciting to watch. In their last few head-to-head games, both teams may still have some unfinished business. So, where do these teams stand going into the series and what should we expect? The Sharks have had 12 playoff appearances, with zero wins. The Ducks on the other hand have had seven appearances, and were Stanley Cup Champions in 2007. Let’s take a look at both teams.
San Jose Sharks:
The Sharks will be a major force on the ice. Their season started off great (25-3-2) and may have ended on a couple of unimportant losses (5-4-1), their season record speaks for itself. Since the first round playoff defeat last year, the Sharks have added eight Stanley Cups to their
Photo by Jack Lima
San Jose’s top two lines have been solid, and the third line is commendable. The scoring capabilities are spread among many of the players. There are six players with over 20 goals; Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Devin Setoguchi, Joe Pavelski, Milian Michalek and Ryane Clowe. Both Marleau and Setoguchi topped the 30 goal mark. Marleau has a career high of 38 goals (+16), a vast improvement over last year’s 19 goals and 29 assists, with a minus 19. The sophomore, Setoguchi has reached a new career high in points (31 goals, 34 assists, 65 points), demonstrating his ability to be quick to strike a goal. He scored the first goal in eight games. He tied the club lead with 11 power play goals. Pavelski (25 goals, 34 assists, 59 points) and Clowe (22 goals, 30 assists, 52 points) reached new career highs in points as well. These powerful forwards bring a solid line up.
On the defensive side, the Sharks are the fourth team in league history to have four defenders with at least 30 points. Dan Boyle (16 goals, 41
Photo by Jack Lima
Then, there’s Evgeni Nabokov who finished in the top 10 among NHL goaltenders in goals against average of 2.44 (41-12-8) and seven shutouts. Nabokov racked up 40 wins before his 60th appearance; only the sixth goalie to win back-to-back, 40-game win seasons. His backup, Brian Boucher has been solid with 12-6-2 and 2.18 goals against average.
Coach Todd McLellan’s rookie coaching year has been tremendous. He has experience in playoff hockey, with a Calder Cup Championship with Houston of the AHL in 2002-03, and as an assistant coach for the Detroit Red Wings for three seasons.
Photo by Jack Lima
In special teams, San Jose has the ability to take advantage of a team through penalties. They ranked second in the league in power-play goals. Thornton, Marleau, Setoguchi and Clowe each had ten or more powerplay goals in the season. The Sharks had an 83.3 percent penalty kill effectiveness.
Then, finally, the last special team – home ice in the Shark Tank. The fans are energetic and loud and ready to go all the way this time, and their confidence is high. Assuming the Sharks can continue their strong checking, fast, physical game plan, just as they did for the bulk of the season, there is no doubt they will advance.
Photo by Jack Lima
Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks have struggled much of the season, finishing 42-33-7, but as I mentioned earlier, turned it on in the last ten games. This could be an advantage, since they have been in mode of winning with solid games already, and not having to turn the juice back on like the Sharks will need to do. The Ducks have been plagued with many injuries over the season as well.
Anaheim has nine veteran Stanley Cup team-members from the 2007 series still on the team; Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Scott Niedermayer, Teemu Selanne, Chris Pronger, Rob Niedermayer, Todd Marchant, Francois Beauchemin and Jean-Sebastien Giguere, and has acquired one more playoff experienced player in the season in Ryan Whitney, who led Pittsburgh to game six of the finasl last season.
Unlike the Sharks, the Ducks scoring has been accomplished by only a few, rather than distributed among the team . Only six players have greater than fifty points this season. There are only two players with over 30 goals: Perry (32 goals, 40 assists, 72 points) and Ryan (31 goals, 26 assists, 57 points) and two more with over 20 goals; Getzlaf (25 goals, 66 assists, 91 points) and Selanne (27 goals, 27 assists, 54 points).
Ryan is the leading NHL rookie scorer, even though he did not start until November 15th, when he was brought up from AHL. Getzlaf set the single season assist record for the team and is tied for third in the league, and ranked seventh in points.
Of the 205 goals scored by the Ducks, 115 were scored by forwards, demonstrating the strength of the top lines. The main producing line; Gezlaf, Perry, and Ryan combined for 17 goals and 21 assists in the last eight games of the season. Another solid players for the Ducks include Scott Niedermayer and defenseman Chris Pronger, who can both dominate at both ends.
The Anahiem goalies split the season at 46 games each. The primary, playoff experienced Giguere with a 19-18-6 record and 3.10 goals against average is slightly bested by his backup, Jonas Hiller, with a 23-15-1, and a 2.39 goals against average. Giguere will most likely start the post-season in the net, but should he need a rest coach Randy Carlyle won’t hesitate to use Hiller.
As far as coaching, Carlyle has the most wins in franchise history, a Stanley Cup Championship ring of his own and was a former Norris Trophy winner as a defenseman. Coach Carlyle has won at least 40 games over his last four seasons with Anaheim.
Anaheim ranks just behind the Sharks at fifth place in power-play scoring, even with having had the third fewest opportunities (309). But they need to work on their penalty-killing (79.7).
The Ducks can stay in the series so long as they have consistency from their goal tenders and are able to maintain their discipline. They can’t afford to take careless penalties.
Photo by Jack Lima
Prediction:
This is the year for the Sharks – they will attack and consume the Ducks in six games. The teams will come out fighting early; physical and strong. But the Sharks overall discipline and determination since the opening of the season has shown they aren’t going to settle for just a show in the race – they want the win.
Contact the writer at: Shellie.lima@prohockeynews.com
Contact the Photographer at: Jack.lima@prohockeynews.com
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