Ducks Shutout Sharks in Game 1 2-0

Everyone knew that the Anaheim Ducks were one of the deadliest 8th seeds in the playoffs. Nobody in HP Pavilion expected their San Jose Sharks to be shutout by this team in the first game at home, as San Jose doubled Anaheim's shot total but could not find the back of the net, and strong special teams play carried the Ducks over the Sharks 2-0.

In the first two periods, the Sharks dominated the shot clock, but both teams played very well defensively and did not allow many offensive opportunities. The best chances came for the Anaheim Ducks however, as a pass trickled across the crease that Evgeni Nabokov never saw, and Teemu Selanne was wide open on the other side. However, his bank in shot ended up bouncing off the outside of the net, and the Sharks were able to clear.
But 5 minutes into the third period, the Ducks were able to capitalize on their third power play of the night. A one touch pass by Ryan Getzlaf to Scott Niedermayer led to a one-time shot that went under the pads of Nabokov to give the Ducks the 1-0 lead. Christian Ehrhoff and Dan Boyle both had great opportunities to tie the game, but a shot from the point by Ehrhoff rang off the top of the crossbar, and Boyle's bid from the faceoff circle hit the post and flew out. Then, as San Jose's 6th power play of the night ended, Marc-Edouard Vlasic never saw Getzlaf come out of the penalty box. His casual pass to Rob Blake was picked off, and Getzlaf took a powerful shot that rang off the post and in late in the third to seal the victory for Anaheim 2-0.

San Jose had 35 shots on goal to Anaheim's 17, but Jonas Hiller stopped all 35 bids by San Jose, including a couple of kick saves that he somehow saw through several screens. In all three periods, San Jose doubled Anaheim's shot total. One of the biggest keys to Anaheim's success was their penalty kill. San Jose had 6 power play opportunities, but only registered 10 shots on goal, and never had a second chance opportunity. They were constantly stopped in the neutral zone, and rarely recovered the puck in dump in attempts. However, the story of the night was Anaheim's ability to win faceoffs, as they won 28 of 40 faceoffs. The key match-up was Todd Marchant against Joe Pavelski. Pavelski, who was 6th in the NHL in faceoff win percentage, only won 25% of his faceoffs through the first two periods against Marchant. Anaheim has now taken away San Jose's home ice advantage for the series, and lead it 1-0. Game 2 will be in San Jose on Sunday night, as the Sharks look to solve all sorts of problems in the extended two day break.