Anaheim Ducks (23-20-7, t-10th in west) at San Jose Sharks (33-10-8, 1st in west), 7:30 pm
Anaheim Calling for Ducks, Fear The Fin for Sharks, and never forget PJ at Sharkspage.
Happy Hug Day, everyone! I thought I'd start out today's post with a rather staggering-contrast table -- here's how Anaheim has performed this season against Pacific opponents vs. the rest of the league (hint: very badly). They've won only 3 of 9 games against the Coyotes and Stars and 0 of 6 games against the intrastate Sharks and Kings. And yeah, in case you're curious or vengeful, that hurts the ego quite a bit.
| OPPONENT | GP | ANA Record | +GF -GA = GD | PP% | PK% |
| Phoenix | 5 | 2-1-2 | +2.4 -2.8 = -0.4 | 18.5% | 78.6% |
| Dallas | 4 | 1-3-0 | +2.5 -3.8 = -1.3 | 0.0% | 78.6% |
| San Jose | 4 | 0-4-0 | +1.5 -4.0 = -2.5 | 21.1% | 68.8% |
| Los Angeles | 2 | 0-2-0 | +1.5 -4.0 = -2.5 | 11.1% | 90.9% |
| Pacific Division | 15 | 3-10-2 | +2.1 -3.5 = -1.4 | 16.4% | 78.2% |
| Rest of League | 35 | 20-10-5 | +3.1 -2.9 = +0.2 | 22.0% | 80.6% |
The Ducks playing outside the Pacific Division are 20-10-5. That's better than the Stars (16-13-8), the Coyotes (16-15-2), the Kings (19-12-2), and not much worse than the Sharks (22-7-4). In fact, in terms of winning percentage, it's sixth-best in the league:
Record against non-Pacific Teams 2009-10 -- six best
| Team | GP | W-L-O | WinPct. |
| Chicago | 39 | 30-6-3 | .808 |
| San Jose | 33 | 22-7-4 | .727 |
| Washington | 46 | 30-10-6 | .717 |
| New Jersey | 44 | 31-12-1 | .716 |
| Buffalo | 45 | 28-11-6 | .689 |
| Anaheim | 35 | 20-10-5 | .643 |
But it's their record within the Pacific Division that's killing them. Sad fact: the eastern-conference NY Rangers have as many points against Pacific Division opponents as the Ducks do -- eight. In fact, the Ducks' divisional record ranks them 30th in the league; Anaheim would have made for a very good non-Pacific team this season, it seems:
Record within own division 2009-10 -- seven worst
| Team | GP | W-L-O | WinPct. |
| Carolina | 13 | 5-7-1 | .423 |
| NY Islanders | 13 | 5-7-1 | .423 |
| Columbus | 13 | 3-6-4 | .385 |
| Toronto | 15 | 3-7-5 | .367 |
| NY Rangers | 12 | 3-7-2 | .333 |
| Edmonton | 16 | 4-10-2 | .313 |
| Anaheim | 15 | 3-10-2 | .267 |
Including tonight, the Ducks have nine more Pacific games to play, and notably, six more against the Sharks and Kings, where they've been outscored 24 to 9 in six previous BoC meetings. Of course, the Sharks only play the Ducks once more after tonight; it's the four remaining SoCal games that should be very pivotal (if the Ducks show up, that is).
Bullies.
Pacific whining aside, the Sharks are an astoundingly-good team.
* In their last 24 games, the Sharks have given up more than two goals only THREE times (twice to the Kings).
* In their last 10 games, the Sharks have given up more than one goal only THREE times (only once in their past six).
Meanwhile, the still-injured Ducks have surrendered four goals in each of their past three games -- uh oh.
* * *
Prediction: It's Thursday night, so I won't be around for game comments -- play nice. Ducks 4, Sharks 2. Goals by Getzlaf, Ryan x2, and Chipchura.
Go Ducks.
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