ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)—Right when the opening puck dropped, Ryan Getzlaf
and Joe
Thornton
dropped gloves. The star centers’ simmering dislike erupted into a
brawl dominated by Thornton, who pummeled Getzlaf with at least two flush blows
to the face.
Getzlaf took it and smiled, knowing he still could win the only important fight.
And that’s exactly what happened in the waning minutes of Game 6. Getzlaf scored the knockout goal as the eighth-seeded Anaheim Ducks ousted the not-so-mighty San Jose Sharks from the postseason with a 4-1 victory Monday night.
Teemu Selanne
and Francois Beauchemin
put Anaheim ahead with their first
playoff goals on fortunate deflections 83 seconds apart in the second period,
and the Ducks coolly finished off the Presidents’ Trophy winners in an upset
that could resonate for years in this juicy in-state rivalry.
“I think if you ask anyone, we’re not an eight seed,” defenseman Ryan
Whitney
said. “Everyone in here knows that, and I think now everyone in hockey
pretty much sees it, too.”
Jonas Hiller
made 36 saves to finish his phenomenal playoff series debut for
the Ducks, who won a fight-filled clincher to complete a remarkable playoff
upset two years after winning the franchise’s only Stanley Cup.
The clubs’ final meeting was a slugfest with 60 total penalty minutes and a long series of brawls between Anaheim’s goals and Hiller’s saves. It all started with the stunning fight between Getzlaf and Thornton, who traded shoves and harsh words two days earlier in San Jose.
“Joe kind of came in and said, ‘Do you want to go tonight?”’ Getzlaf said. “I had every intention of asking him, so it was a situation that carried over from last game. We kind of knew what we were doing. … (In Game 5) I didn’t want give them any spark. Tonight, I felt, was the opportunity to redeem myself.”
Corey Perry
also scored as Anaheim advanced to face second-seeded Detroit,
which swept Columbus out of the first round. The defending Stanley Cup champions
are favorites to defend their title—but few gave the Ducks much chance against
the Sharks, either.
With a dynamic offensive effort that negated all the Sharks’ physical bluster, Anaheim became the third team to beat the NHL’s top regular-season club in the first round since 2000, and just the fifth since 1968. The Ducks are the eighth No. 8 seed to win a playoff series since 1994, largely dominating the league’s first all-California postseason series in 40 years.
Evgeni Nabokov
made 28 saves and Milan Michalek
scored the game’s first goal
for the Sharks, who completed the biggest playoff collapse in a franchise
history full of them. San Jose led the NHL with franchise records for points
(117) and wins (53) during the regular season, but the club has been past the
second round of the postseason just once, in 2004.
The Ducks were outshot in every game, but Hiller, the Swiss goalie, allowed just 10 goals and posted two shutouts.
“Did we get what we deserved? We could have played better, obviously, in some games,” said Sharks rookie coach Todd McLellan, an assistant in Detroit last year. “It took us a while once our character was challenged, and we responded. The lesson has to be learned that we can’t give games away.”
San Jose has won four Pacific Division titles in the past seven seasons, but has never made it beyond the 2004 Western Conference finals.
Selanne broke a tie during a power play, slipping the puck in front of the
net where it apparently glanced off Christian Ehrhoff’s
stick. A few moments
later, Beauchemin launched a shot from the blue line that appeared to ricochet
off Dan Boyle’s
stick and past Nabokov.
“To a man, they were better,” Boyle said in the Sharks’ somnolent dressing room. “Their goalie was better than ours. Their defense was better, and their forwards were better. We had a great regular season and a disappointing playoff, and for that, you have to give them credit.”
The loss might be the final game in the 20-year career of Jeremy Roenick
,
who postponed retirement to make two more runs at his first Stanley Cup. Rob
Blake
, the 39-year-old defenseman, also could be gone, as could 43-year-old
Claude Lemieux
, who made a comeback after a 5 1/2 -year NHL absence, but played just
once against Anaheim.
Notes
Anaheim improved to 9-0 in franchise history when playing at home with a chance to close out a postseason series. … Two scraps near the second intermission briefly put four Sharks and three Ducks in the penalty boxes. … San Jose dropped to 2-13 in the sixth games of playoff series.

vs.
Fear The Fin
154 Comments
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Go Ducks!
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Jack Edwards: HAHAHAHAHA!!!
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Duck fans are looking forward to a great rivalry in the Western Conference. The Ducks are your STANLEY CUP carrying nemesis. Yes, we only have one, but at least the Ducks don’t expect something they don’t earn like some other posers to the North.
It’s amusing to read all the trash-talk about sweeps; first from the Sharks fans and now the Red Wing fans! No use in replying to the chest-thumping-types like butcherdfb; “Kronwalls on the ice and in your face” – Ohhhh noooo, what will the Ducks do!
The Ducks and coaching staff respect the Wings and they know what to do.
Sweep – I doubt it. After a hard fought series… Ducks in seven!
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Boston- Chicago in the Finals
Boston in 6
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captain is going somewhere including thornton and Nabakov.
Does Ronseick will be retire
I need malkin and crosby or ovenkin to come as a shark shirt
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DUCKS IN 6!!!!
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For the last several years ... Sharks opted to keep him as the main Netminder and traded off the better back-up goalies ...
Nabby can have his moments but, more often than not ... he just is mediocre at best. You cannot count on him when it comes to the clutch moments.
As for the rest of the team, Marleau needs to go ... he should have gone last year with Ron Wilson.
Thornton once again was a major disapointment in the play-offs ...
Clowe, ERRORhoff and even Blake ... what the heck were you doing ... Pavelski, Setoguchi ... why did you even put on your skates ...
Game 6 was the most disapointing game I have ever seen ... I finally had to change the channel 6 minutes into the third period.
It was obvious the SHARKS did not come out to even try to win. I have watched more heart and desire from the kid's bantam league.
Hard to remain loyal to a team that shows no desire to win. Hockey begins in the Play-offs ...
Congrats to the DUCKS.
Time to route for the BLACKHAWKS ... may as well have a real underdog win the CUP!
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THE HOCKEY GOD HAS SPOKEN!!!!!!!!!!!
MARK MY WORD. WORD
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LETS GO DUCKS!!!!!
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