Two of the hottest teams in the NHL are meeting tonight when San Jose visits Anaheim. That alone is a good recipe for a great game. Add in the Battle of California rivalry and it just gets better.
The Sharks-Ducks-Kings triple rivalry is easily one of, if not the best, rivalries in the NHL and every game is great to watch. Seriously, this is a great rivalry. I’m not sure there is another rivalry right now that features teams this talented that hate each other as much as these three do. It’s great stuff. Bring on the hits and hate.
So far this year the Sharks have had the Ducks number, even while team teal was struggling to get anything going earlier in the year, so they’ll be looking to keep that up.
Of course John Scott will be in the lineup tonight to act as a “deterrent… - *rolls eyes* - to any of the shenanigans that are almost guaranteed to happen when these two teams meet. Overall the lineup should look the same as it did against the St. Louis Blues.
Anaheim has some tough injuries that they’ll need to overcome but the Sharks should be able to make life hard for them as they try to score without Corey Perry.
Anaheim is a good hockey team. They play hard, have lots of talent and can get under your skin in a hurry. They also become unraveled fairly easily as well. We've seen that in both contests against the Sharks this year and San Jose should be looking to make that happen again tonight. The easiest way to beat Anaheim is to get Perry and Getzlaf off the ice. With Perry injured they only need to focus on Getzlaf.
I‘m not blown away by the Ducks and I have a hard time believing that they’ll still be in the top spot in the league by the time the season is over. I’m not saying the Sharks are better than the Ducks – calm down – I’m only saying they’re probably not the best team in the league so the Sharks should enter this game without putting Anaheim on this imaginary pedestal. Personally, I think the Blues are a better team – no, not because I’m the Sharks blogger – and the Sharks just battled a win out of them.
Keys to the Game
Contain Getzlaf
If the Sharks can keep Getzlaf away from the score-sheet while playing their normal game against everyone else they should have a good chance to win this game. Without Perry the Ducks offense takes a considerable hit. The drop-off from Getzlaf to the next highest scorer (Kesler) is 11 points and, let’s be honest, no one is afraid of Ryan Kesler.
Getzlaf is the danger. He’s one of the best players in the league. Contain him and the chances of a win significantly increase.
Defense
The defense is expected to stay the same with 27-80 making the third pairing. Against St. Louis the Sharks were able to keep the Blues to 20 shots(!), a massive reduction in rubber heading toward their own net.
If they can start to get some consistency in the shots against department – obviously lower numbers – then they will make life a lot easier for themselves and most likely won’t have to score six goals to win games, they can keep winning the 2-1, 2-0, 1-0 games that have been their trademark for so long.
Keep everyone to the outside and play the game that was played against the Blues.
Coaching
Don’t let the Ducks bait you, Todd. They’re going to try, especially if you get a lead, but don’t let them succeed.
When Anaheim gets behind a few goals the game plan becomes a “let’s all play like animals and bite and scratch and kick anyone around us until they get mad enough to retaliate and power plays let us back in the game… kind of system.
Sound familiar? It should – because that’s what happened the last time these two teams met and the score ended up 6-4 in what should have been a complete Sharks blowout.
Stick to the plan, coach, and keep on rolling.
All jabs aside, I enjoy watching the Ducks play; I’m a huge Getzlaf fan. This should be another great game between two teams who absolutely hate each other.
Puck drop is at 10pmET(7pmPDT)
Thanks for reading.