Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf, not shown, scores past San Jose Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov in the third period of a first-round playoff game Thursday in San Jose, Calif. The Ducks defeated the Sharks 2-0.
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Jonas Hiller coolly stopped every puck like a seasoned playoff veteran, showing all the postseason poise that the top-seeded San Jose Sharks still haven’t found.
Hiller made 35 saves in a sparkling playoff debut for eighth-seeded Anaheim, and Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and an assist in the third period of the Ducks’ 2-0 victory over the Sharks on Thursday night.
Getzlaf set up captain Scott Niedermayer’s tiebreaking power-play goal early in the third before roaring out of the penalty box to score his own goal with 2:25 to play.
With their Swiss goalie’s flawless play, the playoff-tested Ducks put an early playoff scare into the Sharks, who won the Presidents’ Trophy during the regular season with 117 points.
Evgeni Nabokov made 15 saves for San Jose in the opener of the first postseason series between two California clubs in four decades.
San Jose claimed home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs by winning the Presidents’ Trophy for the first time in franchise history, while Anaheim needed a prolonged late-season surge just to reach the postseason.
Both teams know those details don’t matter much in the postseason, and the Sharks looked like the less-experienced club for most of the night at a largely somber Shark Tank.
San Jose showcased its superior skill while outshooting the Ducks by a 2-to-1 margin, but the Sharks rarely threatened to get any of those chances past Hiller, who claimed the Ducks’ starting job during the second half of the regular season.
Coach Randy Carlyle stuck with Hiller instead of going back to Jean-Sebastien Giguere, the 2003 Conn Smythe Trophy winner who watched the game from a folding chair behind the glass opposite the Anaheim bench.
Other games
Blackhawks 3, Flames 2: At Chicago, Martin Havlat scored 12 seconds into overtime and the Blackhawks won their first playoff game in seven years.
After tying it late in regulation, Havlat drove a wrist shot past Miikka Kiprusoff from between the circles to match the third-fastest overtime goal in playoff history, and send the towel-waving crowd at the United Center into a frenzy.
Bruins 4, Canadiens 2: At Boston, Phil Kessel had two goals and an assist, and Zdeno Chara scored with 8:45 left to break a third-period tie for Boston.
Tim Thomas stopped 26 shots for the Bruins, who are the top-seeded team in the Eastern Conference but haven’t gotten out of the first round in a decade.
Carey Price made 35 saves for the Canadiens.
Red Wings 4, Blue Jackets 1: At Detroit, Jonathan Ericsson was credited with the go-ahead goal for Detroit with 6:39 left in the second period on a shot that Manny Malhotra redirected into his own net trying to stop the puck with his glove
Jiri Hudler, Nicklas Kronwall and Johan Franzen also scored for Stanley Cup champion Detroit, and Chris Osgood made 20 saves, allowing only R.J. Umberger’s goal.