Sharks to open playoffs on the road against Ducks

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UPDATE (11:28 a.m. PT): The NHL has announced the schedule for the Sharks-Ducks first-round Stanley Cup playoff series:

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For just the second time in their respective franchise histories, the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks will face off in the postseason. 

The series will open in southern California, as Anaheim ultimately leapfrogged San Jose on the final day of the regular season on Saturday to earn home-ice advantage. The Ducks shut out the Arizona Coyotes 3-0 in the desert, while the Sharks lost 6-3 to the Minnesota Wild. The Los Angeles Kings also lost, 4-2 to the Dallas Stars, ensuring a Sharks-Ducks series. 

The rivals finished the season just one point apart in the standings, but San Jose went 3-0-1 against Anaheim during the season. All but one of the four matchups ended in a shootout, and the lone outlier was the Sharks’ 6-2 win in Anaheim on Jan. 21.

But they have not played each other since Feb. 11, 16 days before the Sharks acquired Evander Kane at the trade deadline. The Ducks earned four more points (36) than the Sharks in the 25 games since, and only the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators had a better record than Anaheim in their final 25 games of the season (17-6-2). 

The Sharks and Ducks have not squared off in the playoffs since the first round of the 2009 playoffs. That year, eighth-seeded Anaheim upset top-seeded San Jose, the President’s Trophy winners, in six games.  

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