San Jose Sharks Take On Anaheim Ducks In Must-Win: Game Preview
By Eric He
So it all comes down to this: the San Jose Sharks must beat the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night if they want to have any hope of winning the Pacific Division. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
So it all comes down to this: the San Jose Sharks must beat the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night if they want to have any hope of winning the Pacific Division.
With three games remaining and the Ducks leading by three points, the Sharks face a daunting task if they want to usurp Anaheim, and it all starts with a matchup against the Ducks at the Honda Center.
The Sharks only have themselves to blame if they wind up in second; they have lost many games to inferior opponents recently, and have not been playing up to their standards (i.e. losing to Nashville 3-0 on Saturday night). This isn’t exactly what the Sharks were looking for heading into the playoffs.
However, the Ducks haven’t been impeccable either. Losses to the Predators and the Oilers have kept the Sharks within striking distance in the division standings.
Unless the Sharks want to play the Kings in the first round, they need to win the division, and step one would be beating the Ducks on Wednesday to draw within a point and extend their hopes.
Tale of the Tape
Sharks:
- Goals for per game: 2.90 (7th)
- Goals against per game: 2.34 (4th)
- Shots per game: 34.8 (1st)
- Shots against per game: 27.7 (6th)
- Penalty minutes: 723 (5th)
- Power play percentage: 17.4% (19th)
- Penalty kill percentage: 84.5% (7th)
Ducks:
- Goals for per game: 3.19 (2nd)
- Goals against per game: 2.48 (T-10th)
- Shots per game: 31.4 (7th)
- Shots against per game: 28.5 (8th)
- Penalty minutes: 872 (19th)
- Power play percentage: 16.5% (22nd)
- Penalty kill percentage: 81.5 (17th)
Top Performers
Sharks: Joe Pavelski (39 G, 37 A), Joe Thornton (11 G, 63 A), Patrick Marleau (32 G, 35 A)
Ducks: Ryan Getzlaf (31 G, 55 A), Corey Perry (42 G, 38 A), Nick Bonino (20 G, 27 A)
Injury Report
Sharks: Tomas Hertl (knee) and Adam Burish (hand) are out. Raffi Torres (knee) is probable.
Ducks: Cam Fowler (sprained MCL) and Tim Jackson (hand) are out.
Probable Lines
SAN JOSE (49-21-9)
Forwards
Pavelski-Thornton-Burns
Marleau-Couture-Wingels
Nieto-Sheppard-Havlat
Brown-Desjardins-Kennedy
Defensemen
Vlasic-Demers
Irwin-Boyle
Stuart-Braun
Goalies
Niemi
Stalock
ANAHEIM (51-20-8)
Forwards
Beleskey — Gezlaf — Corey Perry
Maroon — Perreault — Selanne
Cogliano — Koivu — Silfverberg
Winnik — Bonino — Palmieri
Defensemen
Lindholm — Beauchemin
Robidas-Sbisa
Allen-Lovejoy
Goalies
Hiller
Gibson
Game Info
Opening Face-off: 7:30pm PST
Location: Honda Center, Anaheim, CA
TV: NBCSN