Ducks vs. Sharks, round 1 game 6

Back at the Ponda, it's our hometown heroes' chance to put away these Sharks once and for all. How sweet would that be to do here at home? In a way, our Ducks don't really have a choice. If they lose this one, the pressure will be so strong to win the last one, and on Sharks turf no less.

If you ask me, I think Sharks coach McClellan has finally figured out who his big offensive line should be. In game five, his Thornton/Marleau/Setoguchi line was dominant in scoring and the Blake/Boyle defensive line was effective in shutting down our Ducks all the way up until the third period. No doubt he will have them out again and they'll be in top form as they try to escape elimination. And with this knowledge, and the momentum of a win here tonight, they'll come out at the Shark Tank for game seven with guns ablazing.

Well, it's settled. Ducks have to win this one tonight.

Right off the draw, Ryan Getzlaf goes toe to toe with big Joe Thorton. Wow! Talk about the fight of the century. I'm not sure if this is a good thing so early on, but it definitely sets a physical tone to the game at hand. As if we didn't already know it's going to be a physical affair!

Man, the Ponda is loud tonight, and rightly so.

Ugh. Only a minute in, the Ducks draw their first penalty. It's Robbie Niedermayer for tripping against Roenick. I'm happy to see that Jonas "Hiller the Shark Killer" is once again on his game, making some great saves in the Sharks first power play. And the Sharks come up fruitless.

After the power play, the Sharks carry their momentum to keep the puck primarily in the Ducks zone. They're definitely coming hard. C'mon boys, fight back!

Cheechoo takes a huge hit thanks to Corey Perry's shoulder, and the Ducks draw another penalty. Replay shows it's Perry's elbow that makes contact with Cheechoo's head. Our Ducks penalty kill is tremendous, but I'd rather they didn't need to be! Let's stay out of the sinbin, boys. Francois Beauchemin takes a puck off the left ankle and is shown limping off to the locker room at the next whistle.

Not a good sign. The Sharks are hitting harder, putting more shots on goal... and ANOTHER Duck penalty. This one is on James Wisniewski for slashing. The fans are booing. This is a horrible start. I can only hope they'll regroup and shape up during the first intermission. And hopefully, they won't have dug a huge hole of goal deficit by that time. It's during this penalty that Hiller lets one past him. Blake puts a huge shot on Hiller that rebounds into the slot, right on Michalek, who hammers it home.

The next play is whistled off at the Shark net, which instantly turns into a mosh pit. Oh man, more penalties are going to come out of that one. Two in the sinbin for the Sharks, George Parros and Mike Brown in the sinbin for the Ducks, but additionally, big D Danny Boyle is in for the Sharks. And our boys have their first power play. Unfortunately, it's short-lived. Teemu Selanne gets a hooking call less than thirty seconds in. Now we're 4 on 4.

And see, these aren't necessarily bad calls. Our Ducks really need to clean up their act. You can't get anywhere offensively if you're constantly killing off penalties.

Finally, penalty against the Sharks on a hooking play. We're 4 on 3 for the first 15 seconds. It lends to a beautiful mid-air tip in by Perry, off a pass from Getzlaf in the slot who bounces the puck off Evgeni Nabokov's right leg pad. Big goal for our boys, tying things up 1-1 with one second left in that 4 on 3 power play.

As if it could get any faster, play picks up tremendously after that goal. Ducks have risen to the occasion, re-energized, making good hits, strong forechecks, and shots on Naby. The fans sense it too, "Let's go Ducks" resounding. They're starting to look really sharp out there, connecting those passes and going whistle-less from here on out to the first intermission. It's 1-1 and it looks like our boys are finally ready to play some hockey.

The great plays continue in the second period, as the Ducks' third line sets up a few scoring opportunities. The Sharks' third line is also strong, putting a number of shots on Hiller. Our goaltender is on fire though, and he's flawless. My eyes are literally drying out trying to follow all the action here. Big George ends up in the Shark net with Nabokov twice. His line also gets a bunch of scoring opportunities. Maybe it's just me, but the Sharks don't seem to be connecting their passes as well as the Ducks are. Ducks also outnumber the Sharks in shots on net.

We get halfway through the period without any penalties, all the way until the whistle blow ends in a scrum in front of Hiller. He crawls away with the puck as the players get into each others' faces.

Frankie Beauchemin gets an interference call, and the Sharks get another power play. The penalty kill is looking strong, with Hiller once again blocking pucks with his mask.

Now it's the Ducks turn on the power play. Erik Christensen catches a puck on the breakaway, pausing perfectly before he passes the puck to Andrew Ebbett speeding down the slot. His Shark defender hooks him as he fires on the net. His bid flies over the net, but draws an all important penalty.

Right off the faceoff, Selanne wins the draw. It goes back to the Captain at the blue line, who passes it up to Chris Pronger. He fires it back to Selanne who, on a pass to Getzlaf, makes contact first with a Shark stick and it's past Naby in the blink of an eye. First goal this series for the Finnish Flash! And only nine seconds into the power play.

They hardly finish officially announcing the goal when Mike Brown muscles possession of the puck, passes quickly behind the net to Ryan Carter who manages to feed it up ice to Frankie at the blue line. He fires a huge one timer, which breaks Boyle's stick in its path to the Shark net. 3-1 Ducks lead!!

The fans are screaming, our Ducks are on fire, and I'm so wishing I were at this game! The Sharks on the bench look stunned and bewildered. It's a beautiful sight, people.

"Let's go Ducks!"

And Hiller makes a highlight reel sprawling save. What an unbelievable period!

I would hope to see another goal by my boy Bobby Ryan, tying him with the record for goals in a post-season series by a rookie. He's contributing big time tonight, doing all of those little things that prove so important. But earning a point isn't in the game plan, at least for the first two periods.

The horn sounds the end of the period and a brawl erupts on the ice. Pavelski and Ryan Whitney start throwing fists. The zebras let them duke it out for a bit before pulling them apart. There's defnitely going to be penalties at the beginning of the third. But for now, Ducks have a comfortable 3-1 lead going into the second intermission.

The third period opens with a bunch of guys in each sinbin, but Anaheim with the man advantage. Nabokov comes up big in the Sharks penalty kill, as our boys fire shot after shot on him. He's keeping his team in the playoffs at this point. No goals.

Things are getting really chippy. A whistle after Hiller covers up turns into another scrum as Michalek takes a stick to Wisniewski. Guys run in from all corners of the rink to join the melee. As the zebras discuss how they'll dish out the penalties, the coaches look on as they lose important parts of their specialty teams. The sinbins are practically standing room only as there are four players from each team sitting out.

Our Ducks strategy looks like it involves keeping the puck deep in the Shark zone whenever they can, still applying pressure on the forecheck in their defensive zone. They've got the lead, but they can't let up.

There's a nervous moment as Setoguchi goes deep after a home run pass from Marleau. Before he can reach it, Hiller is flying out of his crease to knock the puck away with his stick. It's just Setoguchi and Hiller out there and I'm suddenly reminiscent of the play where Hiller takes a flying dive at the puck out on the blue line. No shot on goal following that moment, but our Ducks don't manage to clear. About 17,000 fans including myself are holding their breath as the few feet surrounding Hiller turn into a veritable pinball game, the puck bouncing off Hiller's chest, off sticks, off skates... everywhere except the net.

Only half of the period left, and the Sharks are getting even more desperate. I think they're starting to get a little sloppy, fanning on shots, fumbling the puck at the blue line, not connecting on passes. And Hiller is staying sharp and true as they apply tons of pressure around his crease.

Play continues up and down the ice, shots on both netminders. We're down to the last five minutes of the game, and the score is still 3-1. This is it, the final stretch! Our big line is on the ice, keeping the puck as deep as possible for as long as possible. Perry gets dragged for a while as Ehrhoff tries to free his stick from his skate blade. A puck battle in the corner to the right of the Sharks net turns up aces as Robbie Niedermayer manages to dig out the puck and get it to Getzlaf in open ice. He edges it up to the high slot, trying to open up a shooting lane. He fires a mad wrister and all we see is Naby's water bottle jump. GOAL!!!

Huge grins on all our boys on the ice and on the bench. The Sharks are positively pissed, and I'm loving this! By the way, with a goal, an assist, and a fight, that's a Gordie Howe hat trick for Getzlaf. Two minutes and some change left, shall we consider this one done? The fans are on their feet. The rest of the game is a mad scramble for the puck, which is flying haphazardly all over the ice. Empty net for the extra attacker. It doesn't make any difference. The Ponda is deafening. The final horn sounds and it's over!

Hiller takes his Ducks in their eighth seed all the way to the top, defeating the President's Trophy winner, and kicking the Sharks all the way into next season. Which, incidentally, will be the next time Sharks fans will see their team on the ice.

Bring on the Detroit Red Wings!