First Round Playoff Preview & Prediction: Sharks vs. Ducks

The Anaheim Ducks face a familiar foe in their quest to hoist the Stanley Cup: The San Jose Sharks.

The San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks have both had their ups and downs this season. For the Ducks, injuries made it a real question mark if they would even be in the playoffs. Lineup changes became a frequent occurrence as Ducks with the absences of Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, and Cam Fowler among others early on in the season. However, they unsurprisingly turned things around in the second half of the season and surged to second in the Pacific.

Meanwhile, the Sharks have had several spurts of great play followed by mind scratching mediocrity.  The Sharks had won eight of their past nine games prior to losing five of their last six to finishing the season. They will be looking to have a deep postseason run after being knocked out of the first round last year by the Edmonton Oilers.

While the Sharks took three of the four games in the regular season, three of the four went to overtime. Let’s be real. This is going to be a very close, exciting matchup between two similarly constructed teams.

LA Sports Hub’s NHL analysts recently weighed in one how the series will go between the two.

Redan Lopez’s Take

The Anaheim Ducks have played very well entering the playoffs. They have won seven consecutive games at Honda Center and are 10-1-1 in their last 12 games. The Ducks have a good mixture of veterans and youth in their lineup. Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and Ryan Kesler are familiar names. But the story of this Ducks team has been the youth that has taken a big step forward.

Ondrej Kase (20 goals), Adam Henrique (20 goals), and Rickard Rakell (34 goals) have provided much-needed scoring when the Ducks have desperately needed it. The defense has also been a big boost to the Ducks offensively, with four 32 points scorers – Hampus Lindholm, Brandon Montour, Cam Fowler, and Josh Manson (first time in franchise history). Look for the blueline to be active in the Ducks’ offense this postseason.

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Similarly, the Sharks have had their share of youth to step up and support their veterans of Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, and Joe Thornton. Tomas Hertl (22 goals), Timo Meier (15 goals), Chris Tierney (23 goals), Jonas Donskoi (14 goals) have all brought more offense to a previously offense-challenged team.

The addition of winger Evander Kane at the trade deadline has also given the Sharks a spark and second option to put the puck in the net.

Defensively, Brent Burns is as dangerous as ever after a slow start to the season. He leads the Sharks in offense with 12 goals, 55 assists (67 totals).

Look for him to keep to his specialty in putting the puck towards the net as he is an expert on getting shots on goal. Brenden Dillion, Paul Martin, and sharp-minded Marc-Edouard Vlasic round up a very good top four.

X-factor for the Anaheim Ducks: Third line of Adam Henrique, Ondrej Kase, and Nick Ritchie. If this trio can contribute on a regular basis, I like the Ducks’ chances.

X-factor for the San Jose Sharks: Special teams. If they can draw enough penalties and provide a solid penalty kill, they will be in the driver’s seat.

Prediction: Overall, the Ducks and Sharks are very evenly matched teams. However, I strongly believe the Ducks will provide enough offense to support John Gibson’s superb goaltending that will carry over into the playoffs. Anaheim Ducks in 7.

Hil Lopez’s Take

The Anaheim Ducks will kick off their series against the San Jose Sharks tomorrow night at Honda Center. These teams have met only once in the playoffs back in 2009 when the Sharks were the 1st seed and the Ducks the 8th seed. The Ducks ended up winning that series ultimately in six games. This series looks to be a defensive one with each time boasting an excellent goalie.

San Jose has Martin Jones who led the Sharks to the Stanley Cup Final two years ago and is strong in net. On the other side, the Ducks have John Gibson who kept them afloat when the team was missing top centers Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler earlier in the year. Each side has very good defensive depth as well. San Jose’s notable include Norris Trophy winner Brent Burns as well as shut down d-man Marc Edouard Vlasic.

The Ducks have notable d-men: Hampus Lindholm, Josh Manson, and Brandon Montour. They are missing Cam Fowler however who has an upper-body injury and is very questionable for this series. Offensively, each team has their usual suspects guiding them. For the Sharks, it is captain Joe Pavelski who had 66 points this year, and Logan Couture who scored 34 goals.

On the other side, the Ducks have Rickard Rakell who scored a career-high 34 goals and had 69 points. Additionally, captain Ryan Getzlaf had 11 goals and 50 assists for 61 points in a total of only 56 games.

Key Factors: Goaltending and Offensive Depth

This series is going to come down to goaltending and offensive depth. For goaltending, I believe the Ducks have an edge as I believe Gibson is better than Jones. Jones faltered in the early part of the season and lost his starting role to backup Aaron Dell for a while before regaining near the end of the season. Gibson has been rock solid for the Ducks when he has started as proven by his .927 save percentage for the season.

For offensive depth, however, I believe the Sharks have a bit of an advantage. Though the Ducks have good forward depth, their longtime alternate captain Corey Perry has struggled. He has scored less than 20 goals in each of the last two seasons and lost his scoring touch.

On the other side, the Sharks have had improved play from depth forwards Chris Tierney and Timo Meier this season. They also acquired Evander Kane from the Buffalo Sabres who has sparked them offensively as he is a free agent this upcoming season and is playing for a new contract.

Next: Kings first round preview

Prediction: In the end, I believe the Ducks will get the job done. They have a better goaltender, and with Ryan Getzlaf averaging nearly a point per game in postseason play, I do not think the Sharks will be able to contain him for a whole series. Anaheim Ducks in 6.