SHARKSPAGE

San Jose Sharks vs Anaheim Ducks scouting report

SHARKS C #39 LOGAN COUTURE VS ANAHEIM RW #10 COREY PERRY

SAN JOSE SHARKS VS ANAHEIM DUCKS STAT MATCHUP

The San Jose Sharks vs Anaheim Ducks Wednesday night matchup is more than just the regular season series finale (SJ leads 3-2), if the current standings hold it could be a bitter first round playoff preview. After a penalty and brawl filled Sharks and Ducks debut in late October, both teams settled down for the most part and tried to pick up points in the standings for the remainder of the series. Bad blood and hostilities are never far below the surface, but the Ducks have a Californian Stanley Cup and a first round playoff win to bring to any regular season argument.

Saturday night’s 4-2 Sharks win at HP Pavilion was a mini-preview of tonight’s contest, albeit with a few changes. After 34 straight starts for Antti Niemi, a span where the Sharks registered a phenomenal 26-4-4 record, Antero Niittymaki will get the start for the first time since January 13th. His last game action came in a relief effort March 14th against Chicago. “Nitty” earned Sharks Player of the Month honors in October, registering a 4-0-1 record, 1.88GAA and .929SV% while the team in front of him struggled to find its footing. Niittymaki told the official team website he hopes to hit the ground running. “Sometimes you feel right, you get a couple of saves and it feels great right away. Sometimes it might take you the first 10 minutes. (Hopefully) it doesn’t take the whole 60 minutes,” Antero said. His style of play is a little different from Niemi’s, with more anticipation and a more athletic style in goal. Clearing the first rebound may be a priority for Niemi, but communication and proper positioning will help ease Niittymaki back into game action. “Hopefully I can do good,” Nittymaki said.

In addition to the change in goaltenders, Ryane Clowe will also be a scratch after suffering an undisclosed lower body injury against Los Angeles on Monday. Checking line center and defensive specialist Scott Nichol may be ready to return to game action for the first time since he suffered an upper body injury February 19th. The Sharks may utilize 7 defenseman and bring Justin Braun back into the lineup for the first time in 5 games, but power forward Brandon Mashinter was also recalled from Worcester of the AHL. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Mashinter has 14 and 19 assists in 62 AHL games played this season, and has registered 12 fighting majors total this season (10 AHL, 2 NHL). Head coach Todd McLellan has also shown a penchant for using Ben Eager and Jamal Mayers to fill in other lines during in-game situations. The first line of Dany Heatley, Joe Thornton and Devin Setoguchi, and the third line of Kyle Wellwood, Joe Pavelski and Torrey Mitchell should remain intact given their blistering peformance of late.

According to OC Register beat writer Eric Stephens, Jonas Hiller is still on the path to recovering from vertigo symptoms. It may be difficult to work Hiller back into the lineup in a postseason environment. Given that Hiller is signed through 2013-14, it may be in Anaheim’s best interest to maximize his time off the ice and give him the best chance for recovery. The Ducks dodged an enormous bullet when an injury suffered Saturday night in San Jose turned out not to be as serious as first thought for defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky. Visnovsky leads the NHL in defensive scoring with 66 points. With 18 goals, he has also scored more than any other blueliner in Anaheim history. Visnovsky was ridden hard into the boards by Douglas Murray midway through the game on Saturday night, but he returned to action Sunday and registered a goal and 4 shots in a losing effort at home against the Stars.

Saturday night’s Sharks-Ducks contest was not a brawl filled affair, but there was definite message sending on both sides. Inside of 2 minutes, third line winger Brad Winchester tried to deliver a shoulder up high to Douglas Murray behind his own net. Unperturbed, Murray continued to carry the puck up along the boards until Matt Beleskey took several strides and tried to line him up against the boards. Murray made the play to move the puck into the neutral zone, and Beleskey was upended and flung to the ice as a result of the collision he initiated. Late in the game after Murray made the hit on Visnovsky that sent him to the bench, Ducks enforcer George Parros challenged Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic after a play. “If Jay (Jason Demers) was on that side, he would have went after Jay. The only guy he wouldn’t have gone after was Douglas Murray. Dougie hits Visnovsky (it’s 4-2, with 20 seconds left), you put the fighter on the ice. What do you think?” Vlasic said according to Eric Stephens. “I could say so many things, but I’m just going to say that.”

Stephens also provided the response by Parros. “He can mouth off all he wants to the media. I don’t really care.” What does matter is the two points. The Sharks are looking to gain a small margin of seperation on Detroit, Anaheim is battling for its playoff life and the 7th or 8th seed. The Sharks faced a similar situation Thursday against Dallas, and again Monday against Los Angeles. Against Dallas the Sharks were coming off two vitriolic contests. The first saw a late Steve Ott charge result in defenseman Jason Demers accidentally punching a linesman in a scrum. In the second meeting in Dallas, there were 3 violent hits that knocked players out of the game, and a Dany Heatley suspension for an ill advised elbow to the head of Steve Ott.

The third meeting on Thursday? Head coach Todd McLellan repeatedly urged his team to get the puck deep, and hammer the Stars on the forecheck. It wore them down to the point where at 6-0, one announcer noted that it looked like there was only one team skating on the ice. On Monday night Kings forwards Brad Richardson and Kyle Clifford both fought Murray after two heavy checks in quick succession. Dan Boyle stepped in to peel off Richardson from his defensive partner. Instead of spillling into furthur problems, McLellan settled his team down and had them play out the string for a 6-1 win.

While many in the media are starting to look at, if not acknowledge, the growing Sharks bandwagon, the parity between 1-through-8 is extraordinarily close. Any team is capable of upsetting any other team, from the first round on. The difference is depth, compete level, and discipline. Noted by the Anaheim broadcast on Saturday night, the Ducks and the Sharks are the two teams in the league with the most 60 point scorers (SJ 5, Anaheim 5). According to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun, the Sharks also have the most 20 goal scorers in the Western Conference: Patrick Marleau (37), Logan Couture (31), Dany Heatley (25) Devin Setoguchi (22) and Joe Thornton (20). With 6 goals and 13 assists in his last 10 games, Joe Pavelski has 3 cracks at joining that 20 goal plateau. He currently has 19 goals in 71 games played.

The Ducks may have the top line in hockey (Ryan-Getzlaf-Perry), and a resurgent Selanne clicking with Blake and Koivu, but the third and fourth lines will have matchup problems against San Jose or Vancouver in the postseason. On defense, the Lydman-Visnovsky pair is going to take a leadership role, but there is a heavy reliance on young defenseman Luca Sbisa and rookie Cam Fowler. The Ducks repeatedly targeted Sharks second year defenseman Jason Demers on Saturday night, and other teams are likely to do the same to Anaheim in the playoffs. Discipline may also be an issue for the Ducks. Allowing 3.68 power plays a game with the 21st rated penalty kill in the league is a problem. Allowing the 4th most shots on goal will also test Ray Emery and the Ducks defense, a defense which likes to collapse low around the net and is aggressive on rebounds.

Against the Sharks in particular, set plays on faceoffs could play a factor over 60 minutes or a 7-game series. The Sharks are 2nd in the league from the faceoff dot, and with multiple natural centers on the first and third lines, San Jose has a lot of interchangeable parts. Both Anaheim and San Jose use a strong forecheck, although the Sharks use a little more speed through the neutral zone on all 4 lines. Both teams like to force the defense to turn, then to play a physical forecheck to wear down opponents. The Sharks changed from a more puck possession on the wing, to a more dump and chase style as the season progressed. They have been 26-4-4 since January 13th, so it has been working for them. On Saturday, San Jose forwards were quick closing the gap on the Ducks defense. Making a quick first pass and getting the puck up to the forwards to start the transition, has to be a key for Anaheim against the Sharks.

Matchups to look out for on Wednesday night with Anaheim having last change on home ice: which forward line Anaheim Ducks head coach Randy Carlye will want to use against the Sharks top defensive unit of Dan Boyle and Douglas Murray. Carlye is known for almost overusing matchups at times. If the Sharks use 7 defenseman, which of Vlasic-Demers or Wallin-White will be used against the Getzlaf and Selanne lines. Will Justin Braun be a 7th defenseman, and could he be used in a power play specialist role. Last year with Demers on the playoff roster as a rookie, the Sharks iced 7 defenseman and used him in mostly offensive situations. For the Sharks, special teams have been a concern of late especially with a man down. Staying out of the box, and not straying too far from their own net are keys. With Marleau-Thornton-Setoguchi and Wellwood-Pavelski-Mitchell locked, who will take Clowe’s spot on the second line, and will Scott Nichol or Brandon Mashinter take Clowe’s spot? Thornton’s Saturday night battles in front with Lydman and Beauchemin could carry over to Wednesday night as well. The fourth line of Ben Eager, Jamal Mayers and Andrew Desjardins has been effective of late, but with three bonafide scoring lines in front of them, they need to develop more of a shutdown defensive mentality. A clearing play in the defensive zone, or pinning an opponent deep for a line change, could be as good as a scoring chance for them given the situation. Niittymaki’s first start in 34 games will shed light on the status of the backup goaltender as well.

[Update] Lines for the game:

San Jose Sharks:
Marleau-Thornton-Setoguchi
Mashinter-Couture-Heatley
Mitchell-Pavelski-Wellwood
Eager-Desjardins-Mayers

Murray-Boyle
Wallin-White
Vlasic-Demers

Niittymaki-Niemi

Anaheim Ducks:
Ryan-Getzlaf-Perry
Blake-Koivu-Selanne
Belesky-McMillian-Winchester
Ruutu-Marchant-Parros

Visnovsky-Lydman
Beauchemin-Sbisa
Fowler-Brookbank

Emery-Ellis

[Update2] Fast Fish – Anaheim Calling.

[Update3] Five reasons we’re excited for tonight’s Sharks/Ducks grudge match – Greg Wyshynski for Yahoo’s Puck Daddy.