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Sharks, Red Wings begin playoff rematch in San Jose

Apr 29, 2011 - 3:17 PM (Sports Network) - For the second straight spring the Red Wings and Sharks will meet in the Western Conference semifinals. The series starts this evening when San Jose welcomes Detroit to HP Pavilion for Game 1 of the best-of-seven set.

The Sharks defeated Detroit in five games last spring to earn the franchise's second-ever trip to the conference finals. The run didn't last long after that, however, as the Sharks were swept by Chicago, ending San Jose's dreams of landing its first berth in the Stanley Cup Finals.

The Red Wings were coming off a seven-game series with Phoenix last year when they entered their second-round matchup against San Jose. This time around, Detroit swept the Coyotes in four games to earn the rematch with the Sharks.

San Jose entered this year's playoffs as Pacific Division champions and the second seed in the West. The Sharks moved into the second round for the sixth time in seven seasons by downing Los Angeles in six games.

The third-seeded Red Wings, who won the Central Division this year, will have revenge on their mind in this series as the 2010 postseason exit to San Jose marked Detroit's worst playoff run since losing to Edmonton in the first round in 2006.

Overall, the 2010 postseason was a strong run for the Sharks, who in 2009 were eliminated in the opening round by Anaheim despite having the best record in the NHL.

The Sharks had seven players notch two goals or more in the opening round against the Kings and Ryane Clowe led the way with four tallies. Clowe also led the team in scoring with seven points versus LA.

Joe Pavelski added three goals, while Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Dany Heatley, Logan Couture and Jason Demers each contributed two markers.

Pavelski had an excellent series against Detroit in last year's playoffs, notching four goals and three assists over the five meetings. Thornton had three goals and five assists in the 2010 conference semis.

Scoring depth is San Jose's strong suit, but head coach Todd McLellan would like his team to use that asset to cash in more on the power play. The Sharks potted just two power-play goals on 23 chances with the man advantage in Round 1.

Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi will also try to improve his performance in the second round after going 3-2 with a lofty 3.99 goals-against average and a simply awful .863 save percentage against the Kings.

Niemi, who won a Stanley Cup as a rookie goaltender with Chicago last spring, was pulled twice in this year's conference quarterfinal series, but he is still San Jose's No. 1 goaltending choice over fellow Finnish netminder Antero Niittymaki.

The 27-year-old Niemi was 16-6 with a 2.63 GAA during the Blackhawks' title run in 2010.

At the very least, Detroit's quick first-round victory this spring has helped the club get healthier as the Red Wings haven't played a game since completing the sweep of Phoenix on April 20.

Henrik Zetterberg, who led his club with 80 points in the regular season, missed the entire first round with a sprained left MCL. However, the 2008 Conn Smythe winner has been practicing during his club's extended break between rounds and the Swede is expected to play in Game 1 of this series.

Meanwhile, Zetterberg's fellow Swedish forward Johan Franzen missed the final test of the Phoenix series with an ankle injury. Franzen, who paced Detroit with 28 goals this season, is also expected to be ready for the opener in Round 2. Franzen managed two goals and an assist in his three games against the Coyotes.

"We needed guys to get time off and get healthy so they could get playing," Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock said. "So we're excited about the opportunity. We know we're playing a real good team. It should be fun."

With his team banged up, Pavel Datsyuk picked up the slack in the opening round, leading the Red Wings with six points on two goals and four assists. Datsyuk has amassed 82 points (30g, 52a) in 114 career playoff tests and is also one of the best defensive forwards in the game. The three-time Selke Award winner was named as a finalist for the honor again this season.

Five players tied for the team lead in goals in Round 1, as Tomas Holmstrom, Patrick Eaves and defenseman Brian Rafalski joined Datsyuk and Franzen with two tallies each. Valtteri Filppula also added a goal and four assists in the brief series.

Nicklas Lidstrom, who is a finalist for the Norris Trophy yet again this season, joined Rafalski with two points from the blue line. The 40-year-old Lidstrom's two assists in the Phoenix series gives the six-time Norris winner 177 points (50g, 127a) in 251 career playoff games.

Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard had a solid first round, allowing 10 goals on 118 shots for a .915 save percentage and a 2.50 GAA. Like Niemi, Howard is a 27-year-old who made his postseason debut last spring, but unlike San Jose's netminder, Howard still has back-stopping his team to a Stanley Cup title on his to-do list.

Detroit had an efficient power-play attack in the opening round, scoring four times on 15 chances with the man advantage. However, the Red Wings certainly have room for improvement on the penalty kill after allowing the Coyotes to score six times on 18 power-play opportunities.

Last year's conference semifinal matchup between the Sharks and Wings may have lasted only five games, but that is a tad bit misleading. San Jose won all four of its games by one-goal margins and Detroit's victory came in a 7-1 blowout.

Still, the Sharks followed up last year's playoff win with three victories in four regular-season encounters in 2010-11.

The Red Wings and Sharks have met four times in the playoffs and each club has won two series. Detroit last ousted San Jose in six games during the 2007 conference semifinals.

Niemi could be the difference in this series for San Jose, as he has excellent career numbers against Detroit, going 5-1-1 with a 1.97 GAA and a .932 save percentage versus the Red Wings. However, he has never faced the Wings in the postseason.

Howard is 3-2-1 with a 2.81 GAA in six career games against the Sharks. He's also never met San Jose in the playoffs.

The Sharks, who will also host Game 2 on Sunday, had a 21-14-6 record on home ice during the regular season. They were just 1-2 at the Shark Tank against LA in the opening round.

Detroit had a phenomenal 26-11-4 record as the road club this season and also won both of its games in Phoenix in the conference quarterfinals.