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Sharks open semifinals with Stars

Apr 25, 2008 - 12:59 PM Dallas at San Jose 10:00 pm EDT Western Conference semifinals

SAN JOSE, California (Ticker) - Despite putting together competitive teams, neither the San Jose Sharks nor the Dallas Stars have advanced past the Western Conference semifinals since the NHL lockout.

One drought will come to an end this season as the second-seeded Sharks and fifth-seeded Stars faceoff in the conference semifinals, beginning with Game One on Friday.

The Sharks have been eliminated in the semifinals each of the last two postseasons despite high expectations following a conference finals appearance in 2004. A favorite to win the Stanley Cup this time around, San Jose nearly failed to get past the quarterfinals, needing seven games to dispatch the seventh-seeded Calgary Flames.

Cornerstones Joe Thornton (seven points), Patrick Marleau (six) and Jonathan Cheechoo (five) played well in the opening series but newcomers Ryane Clowe and Joe Pavelski stole the show.

Clowe, who missed 67 regular-season games with a knee injury, led the team with four goals and eight points. The second-year center Pavelski added three tallies and four assists and is looking forward to a hard-fought series against the Stars.

"It's going to be a great series," he said. "This will be another tough series. At the same time, that's what the playoffs are. You don't find any easy series. It's playoff hockey."

The Stars won their first playoff series since 2003 in six games against the defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks during the conference quarterfinals. But, the Stars have not advanced past the semifinals since losing in the 2000 Stanley Cup Finals to the New Jersey Devils.

"We've been waiting for a long time," defenseman Stephane Robidas said. "Personally, I don't remember the last time I made it to the second round, it tells you that much."

Dallas will once again depend heavily on its offense to get past the Sharks.

After finishing second to the Detroit Red Wings in the West in goals during the regular season, the Stars continued to put forth a strong offensive performance against the Ducks, scoring a conference-high 20 goals.

All-Star Mike Ribeiro led the club with eight points, while four others had six apiece, including Robidas, who is determined to win a championship.

"It's going to get even tougher, but we've got one goal in mind, and that's the Stanley Cup," Robidas said.