DUCKS STUN NHL BEST SHARKS WITH OPENING GAME WIN

It’s no secret that a hot goaltender can take a team far in the NHL playoffs.  For the Anaheim Ducks, it earned them a shocking game 1 road victory over the San Jose Sharks.   Despite getting outshot 35-17, Anaheim took a 2-0 verdict over the team with the NHL’s best regular season record thanks to the shutout goaltending of Jonas Hiller.

For the Sharks, the Ducks were supposed to be a mere bump in the road for a lengthy playoff run.  On paper, the goaltending matchups underscored the qualitative differences between the teams with battle tested veteran Evgeni Nabokov between the pipes for the Sharks against Hiller—a rookie making his first postseason start in the NHL.  After the game, Ducks coach Randy Carlyle explained why Hiller was remarkably poised despite his inexperience:

"Jonas is more than just a raw rookie. He played in some World Championships and the Swiss League, and won championships. ... He's a very calm guy. He doesn't get too high or too low."

Sharks’ coach Todd McLellan specifically cited his offenses’ inability to create scoring chances off of rebounds against Hiller and a tenacious Ducks’ defense as the reason for the loss:

"We didn't create too many second opportunities. That's their goalie doing a great job around their net, and us doing a poor job. Their goaltender swallowed a lot of pucks. We obviously have to be better in that area."

After two scoreless periods of hockey, Anaheim’s Scott Niedermayer cashed in on the power play at 5:18 of the third period assisted by Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Whitney to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead.  Getzlaf himself would score an insurance goal assisted by Mike Brown at 17:35 to seal the victory.

The pressure is now squarely on San Jose down a game in the series—and after two consecutive 2^nd round eliminations in the past two years.  Winning goaltender Hiller said that they’re not a team that’ll fold under the pressure:

"It's sure easier to start with a win. Now, San Jose almost has to win the next one, so that's some pressure on them, but they're a great team."

Scott Niedermayer, who scored the winning goal, dismissed the significance of the victory while praising Hiller’s superb performance:

"There are things we did well, but the game really could have gone either way. Hiller stepped up and made a couple of saves, and they hit a couple of posts. They came at us pretty good, but we still felt pretty good about how we played."

The series continues at ‘The Shark Tank’ (aka San Jose’s HP Pavilion Arena) on Sunday before heading south to the Honda Center in Anaheim for games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Thursday.