Since the 2003-04 season, only two teams have qualified for
every Stanley Cup playoffs: Detroit and San Jose.
Since the 2003-04 season, only two teams have qualified for every Stanley Cup playoffs: Detroit and San Jose.
Friday begins the second-round matchup between those two teams, with the winner of the best-of-seven series advancing to face the Vancouver-Nashville winner for the Western Conference title.
San Jose gained the right to play in the second round by topping Los Angeles in six games, while Detroit blitzed Phoenix in four to earn a nine-day break leading up to Friday’s 7 p.m. opener at HP Pavilion.
“They are a healthier team, much more rested,” San Jose coach Todd McLellan said of the task of playing Detroit for the second consecutive year in the Western Conference semifinals.
San Jose topped the Red Wings in five games last year, then won three of four games during this season. That differential in head-to-head games helped San Jose to a second seed in the conference, one point ahead of Detroit. That margin meant that San Jose could begin the series at home.
“You always want it,” McLellan said of the home-ice advantage in the series. “We prefer to play in front of our fans; it’s a great environment. Now that you are traveling through three different time zones, it’s nice to be home for that extra day, having your own practice and training facilities.”
San Jose was extended to overtime in three games against the Kings, coming out a winner in each.
“Our starts, our special teams, the consistency throughout the 60 minutes” were issues McLellan felt were in need of improve for the upcoming series.
“If we don’t improve in those areas, we’re going to give ourselves little chance,” he said.
Los Angeles scored 20 goals in the first round and at least the first three in as many games.
“We’ve got to be better defensively against this team,” McLellan said. “They’re not going to give us much, and they have the ability to score a bunch.”
The Red Wings rolled to an 18-10 edge in goals in their sweep of the Coyotes. San Jose finished its first-round series with 20 goals, suffering one shutout.
The Red Wings scored 13 more goals than San Jose during the regular season.
“We’ve got to be sure to match their intensity, their work ethic,” Sharks winger Devin Setoguchi said.
After San Jose hosts Game 2 at noon Sunday, the series moves to Detroit for games 3-4 Wednesday and May 6. A fifth game, if needed, will be played at 5 p.m. May 8.
