Anaheim's 4-0 trouncing of the men in teal two nights ago was the second straight decisive victory over their intrastate rivals, starting with a 5-1 rout in San Jose six days prior. That night it was John Gibson leading the way with 36 saves but on Monday is was backup Anthony Stolarz getting the well-deserved spotlight. The 27-year-old netminder stopped all 46 San Jose shots to earn his second victory of the season, and he set a franchise record for most saves in a shutout.
"The guys did a great job tonight eliminating second chances, kind of letting me see the first shot," Stolarz said. "If there was a rebound out front, they did a really good job of clearing it."
In addition to the work by Stolarz in net, Alexander Volkov potted a pair of goals in just his sixth game with the Ducks following a trade with Tampa Bay on March 24. "It's great to get the two goals," Volkov said. "I feel much more comfortable with the team and I'm getting better. That's a good feeling."
The Ducks will look to do it again in the rematch with the Sharks in San Jose tonight, but may again be without captain Ryan Getzlaf, who has missed four of the last five gams with an upper body injury. There was speculation surrounding Getzlaf possibly making a move before Monday afternoon's NHL Trade Deadline, but he ultimately stayed put. He addressed that and more with the media today.
"It was obviously a different experience for me than I've been through in the past," said Getzlaf of the trade deadline. "I'm here now and had a lot of discussion, and nothing was real heavy content or anything like that. I've never rally approached one of these deadlines as a pending free agent before. That was a different experience, a lot of questions, a lot of speculation. I'm happy to still be in my Ducks uniform today.
"I've always been an Anaheim Duck, and this organization means everything to me. I would never want to do anything to hinder the progression of this organization or where it could go. If it ever came to that, I expected Bob to put the organization at the forefront, and then the decision would be up to me after that."
Getzlaf remains listed as day-to-day on the injury front, as do Sonny Milano (upper body), Sam Steel (lower body) and Isac Lundestrom (appendicitis). Bob Murray spoke yesterday about the status of Hampus Lindholm and his fractured wrist and said there was little chance he would play again this season.
"If he's okay to play the last week of the year, I doubt I will allow that to happen," Murray said. "We're going to know more next week. There's still a little pain with a certain motion, the downward motion, where that little chip is out of his bone.
"I'd love to get our full defense playing, don't get me wrong, but you've got to put your eyes in the right direction if it comes to the last week of the year. I don't know if you're going to see him."
Tonight is the last of eight meetings between the Ducks and Sharks, with the Ducks owning a 3-3-1 record so far.
