Five members of the Ducks, including goaltender Jonas Hiller, are expected to make their Stanley Cup playoff debuts Thursday night in Game 1 of an opening-round series against the San Jose Sharks at HP Pavilion.

Defensemen James Wisniewski and Sheldon Brookbank, rookie center Andrew Ebbett and rookie winger Mike Brown are also in line for their first playoff appearances.

“You can tell them all you want,” Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. “You can deliver the message, but until they actually participate and get into the situation, feel the energy that’s going to be in the building and listen to the crowd, play that intense game, compete — that’ll be the first test for them.”

None of the club’s contingent of first-year playoff performers is exactly raw. Brown, at 23, is the youngest, with Brookbank, 28, the oldest.

“To get to the NHL, they’re not going to come out of rec-league hockey,” Carlyle said. “They’re going to have competed at the stages along the way in some very intense situations. Is it going to be as intense as the situation that we’re going to be presented with in the first game? Probably not, but once they get comfortable, all the other stuff goes away.

“Once the first body check is delivered and the first faceoff and the first play they make, everything kind of goes numb.”

Brookbank planned to call on his American League playoff experiences, which included a trip to the Calder Cup Finals while with the Milwaukee Admirals in 2006.

“Whether or not it’s in the NHL, you still gain experience, in whatever league you played before you got here,” he said. “Being an older guy kind of helps out, too. I expect there’s going to be more intensity coming from everybody. Everyone will be revved up a little more, I think.”

Another advantage for the Ducks is the wealth of experience elsewhere in the locker room. Twelve players remain from the club’s 2007 Stanley Cup championship, including captain Scott Niedermayer, who previously won three titles as a member of the New Jersey Devils.

“There are obviously a lot of guys in the dressing room that have been around for a long time and have a lot of playoff experience,” Brown said. “It’s definitely something you can feed off and learn from. Those guys are great in the dressing room. I think that will be a big help.

“This is something you dream about all your life as a hockey player. You want to play in the Stanley Cup playoffs and you want to win the Stanley Cup. It’s definitely a lifelong goal that I’ve had. It’s real exciting to get it on the way.”

No player expected to dress for the Sharks has fewer than four games of post-season experience. While San Jose is seeking its first Stanley Cup, the club’s roster includes six players who have won championships elsewhere.

Veteran Sharks winger Claude Lemieux owns four Stanley Cup championship rings, including as a teammate of Niedermayer’s in New Jersey in 1995 and 2000. Defensemen Rob Blake, Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich have one each, while former Ducks Travis Moen and Kent Huskins were on Anaheim’s 2007 title team.

[Source: Ducks.FreedomBlogging.com]

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