Sharks at Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks were heading in opposite directions as the regular season came to a close, and the Pacific Division rivals will cross paths in the postseason for only the second time as they face off at Honda Center on Thursday in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series. Anaheim ended the campaign with a five-game winning streak to overtake slumping San Jose for second place and home-ice advantage.
The Ducks earned points in 11 of their final 12 games (10-1-1) to become the ninth team in NHL history to register five consecutive 100-point seasons. They hope to have John Gibson in the crease for the opener as the goaltender began practicing Monday after missing the final three games of the regular season with an upper-body injury. While Anaheim was soaring, San Jose was floundering down the stretch, losing five of its final six contests (1-4-1). The Sharks won three of the four regular-season meetings, including both games in Anaheim, but the Ducks upset San Jose in the lone playoff meeting, winning their 2009 first-round series in six games.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, USA, TVA Sports, NBCS California (San Jose), Prime Ticket (Anaheim)
ABOUT THE SHARKS (45-27-10): Evander Kane proved to be a nice addition for San Jose as the 26-year-old left wing recorded nine goals and five assists in 17 games after being acquired from Buffalo. Kane, who finished one tally shy of the career high of 30 he set in 2011-12 while with Winnipeg, returned to the lineup for the regular-season finale after missing two games with an undisclosed injury. Defenseman Brent Burns finished one point ahead of captain Joe Pavelski (66) for the team lead in scoring after notching two goals and 10 assists over his final 10 contests.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (44-25-13): Gibson was playing well before suffering his injury April 1 against Colorado, going 14-4-2 with a 1.95 goals-against average after the All-Star break. Considering his numbers at home this season, Ryan Miller would be a more than acceptable option to start the opener as the veteran backup went 7-0-2 with a 1.97 GAA in 10 games at Honda Center. Rickard Rakell, who led the team in the regular season with career highs of 34 goals and 69 points, hopes to have another strong postseason after notching seven tallies and six assists in 16 games last year.
OVERTIME
1. The Sharks were eliminated by Edmonton in the first round last postseason after making their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2016, while the Ducks lost to Nashville in the conference final.
2. Ducks D Kevin Bieksa hopes to be in the lineup for Game 1 after missing the final 12 contests of the regular season while recovering from hand surgery.
3. Three of the four regular-season meetings were decided in a shootout.