This is the eighth time in NHL history that two California teams will meet in the postseason, last occurring in the 2016 playoffs when Los Angeles faced the San Jose Sharks in the opening round. Anaheim has faced a California team twice, beating San Jose in the Conference Quarterfinals in 2009 and falling to Los Angeles in the 2014 Conference Semifinals.
In the 2009 series between Anaheim and San Jose, the Ducks won the series in six games. Three current Ducks and three active Sharks appeared in the series, with Ryan Getzlaf leading all Anaheim skaters in assists and scoring (2-6=8). Corey Perry also registered 3-1=4 points in the series while Francois Beauchemin recorded one goal. San Jose's Joe Thornton led the Sharks in assists and points (1-4=5), while Joe Pavelski and Marc-Edouard Vlasic each registered one assist in the six games.
During the 2017-18 regular season, three of the four games between the two clubs went into a shootout (Ducks went 1-1-2 overall). Rickard Rakell led all Ducks skaters with 2-3=5 points in four games.
The Ducks enter the First Round with an all-time playoff record of 89-69 in 158 total games (51-32 at Honda Center, 38-37 on the road) and are 16-12 all-time in a playoff series. In the First Round, the Ducks are 42-31, moving on into the Second Round eight times in the club's 13 appearances.
The Ducks have qualified for the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year, equaling the second-longest streak in the NHL. Only Pittsburgh has a longer streak with 12 (Minnesota also has six consecutive).
This is Anaheim's 14th trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the 11th in 13 seasons since 2005-06. The Ducks enter the 2018 playoffs with the most postseason wins in the Western Conference since 2014 (31-22), which is also tied for second in the NHL (PIT 40, NYR also with 31). Anaheim has also posted 70 playoff wins since 2006 (70-52), ranking third in the NHL (PIT 91, CHI 76).
