No player will say publicly who they want or do not want to play in the playoffs.

It’s an unwritten rule not to provide fodder for the other team’s bulletin board. But it might have some creedence when the Ducks say it doesn’t matter if  they play San Jose or Detroit in the first round of the playoffs.

The teams play similar styles, largely because San Jose coach Todd McLellan was an assistant under Detroit coach Mike Babcock for three years prior to taking the Sharks job last summer.

“He’s got full knowlegdge of what they like to do and he’s implemented a lot of that into San Jose’s team,” Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said after Sunday’s practice, when the Ducks were still waiting for the outcome of the St.Louis-Colorado game to determine their playoff seed.

“They’re pretty much a mirror of one another. The difference in San Jose is that they probably are more North American than European. They’re both very, very good hockey clubs. We have a tall task in front of us.”

Defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit’s success is built on moving the puck well, particularly when it advances from its own blue line through the neutral zone. It has a stable of two-way forwards that back check well, and its defense is based on positioning and quick puck movement.

It’s a philosophy that McLellan knows well.

“Both coaches are from the same school,” goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere said.

“It’s going to be very similar, I’m sure. Both are great teams. Proven teams. They’ve been good all year. So we’re going to have to bring our ‘A’ game.”

The Ducks have done a good job of not talking about their possible opponents, but the storylines are difficult to ignore.

A series with Detroit would match the past two Stanley Cup champions, while San Jose would mean the first all-California playoff matchup since 1969, when the Kings played the Oakland Seals in the first round.

“We have never been in the playoffs against them, so that would be a great experience,” winger Teemu Selanne said of San Jose.

Would it be a different feeling playing a team in your own division?

“There’s a rivalry with both of them,” Bobby Ryan said. “I don’t see that changing anything, and obviously I don’t think it would be any easier with San Jose. It’s out of our control. I think guys are excited no matter what going into either of them.”

Ryan did offer a glimpse into what a Ducks-Sharks playoff series might be like.

“If you’re going into San Jose you’ve got to prepare for a war,” he said. “It’s going to be difficult. It’s going to be one of those series where every goal is ugly and you’re going to have to shut down a couple of guys, where in Detroit all four lines can score regularly.

“It won’t be more of a finesse game…but it’s certainly a different style. They’re much more run and gun.”

[Source: Ducks.FreedomBlogging.com]

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