Ducks

Ducks defenseman Sheldon Souray was exploring the beauty of the unknown, the pristine hockey slate on the eve of opening night in the Stanley Cup playoffs. At this stage, no one can be wrong in the timeless playoff prediction game. "I think I've played in four playoffs," Souray said Monday. "I've been the first seed a couple of times and lost out in the first round and been the eighth seed and went to the second round and lost to the eventual Cup champion both times.

DUCKS They must: maintain consistency on their power play, which ranked fourth in the regular season, trailing only Washington, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia; maintain composure, which they failed to do two years ago with spells of undisciplined play in a first-round playoff loss to Nashville; solve Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard, who holds a 9-3-1 career record against the Ducks. RED WINGS They must: get scoring from sources not named Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg - someone like newcomer Damien Brunner, who had 10 goals by Feb. 24 and just two more the rest of the way, or Johan Franzen, who finished strong with seven goals in April; facilitate successful on-the-spot initiations for defensemen Brendan Smith, Jakub Kindl and Danny DeKeyser, who have combined to play a total of zero playoff games - 263 fewer than legendary defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, who retired after last season, played in 20 seasons for Detroit.

Wasn't it just yesterday that the Kings were hoisting the Stanley Cup? Time flies when you follow a tedious, spirit-sapping lockout with a 48-game season that was crammed into 100 calendar days. The Kings will try to become the first team to win back-to-back titles since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998, but, unlike last season, they won't take anyone by surprise. The Chicago Blackhawks, who had to break up their 2010 Cup team almost immediately because of salary-cap concerns, have rebuilt their reserves of talent and character and are the favorites.

This is the sixth time they have met in the playoffs. The two times the Ducks defeated Detroit in the playoffs (2003 and 2007) were also the two times they reached the Stanley Cup Final, winning in 2007. Anaheim was 1-2 against the Red Wings in this shortened season, losing both games at home, getting outscored 7-2. The Ducks' win at Detroit on Feb. 15 was a breakthrough moment of sorts, marking their first win at Joe Louis Arena in five years. Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard has a career record of 9-3-1 against the Ducks.

No. 2 Anaheim (30-12-6) vs. No. 7 Detroit (24-16-8) Hockey philosopher/legend Teemu Selanne of the Ducks cut to the chase when he summed up a playoff series against a frequent opponent. "History is repeating," Selanne said Sunday. Detroit, again, naturally. The Ducks and the Red Wings will be meeting for the sixth time in the playoffs; Detroit has won three times, including the last meeting in 2009. Of note, the home team failed to win in each of the three meetings between the clubs in this shortened regular season.

Teemu Selanne was asked what most influenced the Ducks' run to the Western Conference No. 2 seeding in the Stanley Cup playoffs that probably begin Tuesday against the Detroit Red Wings. “Pride,” the Ducks' legendary, 42-year-old wing said after practice Friday. Selanne's reference was to the grisly 6-20-6 start last season that got a coach fired and sat badly with a veteran group that included members of the franchise's 2007 Stanley Cup champion team. BOX SCORE: Phoenix 5, Ducks 3 “The disappointment of last season carried over to this year,” Selanne said.

Corey Perry was a fresh-faced second-year player and just 21 when the Ducks started their playoff run to a Stanley Cup championship in 2007. Now, the 2010-11 Hart Trophy winner is a little more than a month removed from signing an eight-year, $69-million extension, and the attention on him is far more glaring with the Stanley Cup playoffs just days away. "Starting from a young age and maturing as a player, you're taught to put the team on your back," Perry said after practice Friday at Honda Center.

DUCKS AT VANCOUVER When: 7 PDT. Where: Rogers Center. On the air: TV: KDOC; Radio: 830. Record vs. Canucks: 1-1. Update: The Ducks, with the No. 2 Western Conference seed clinched, play their final regular-season road game where their season began. Vancouver, with the No. 3 seed clinched, will not have starting goaltender Cory Schneider because of an unspecified injury. Schneider is 17-9-4. With rest due to key players before the playoffs, the Ducks summoned right wing Devante Smith-Pelly, goaltender Frederik Andersen and left wing Patrick Maroon from minor league Norfolk.

The Ducks' torrid pace had slowed the last few weeks, but they regrouped in time to clinch their second Pacific Division title in franchise history and the No. 2 seeding in the playoffs. Goaltender Viktor Fasth made 24 saves and Ryan Getzlaf, Radek Dvorak and Sami Vatanen each scored goals Monday to give the Ducks a 3-0 victory over the Oilers at Edmonton and a sweep of the teams' back-to-back games. The Ducks previously won a division title in 2007 as a springboard to winning the Stanley Cup. They started this season impressively but had struggled to score lately.

Pluses Teams across the NHL paid tribute to victims of the Boston Marathon bombings in many ways, including holding a moment of silence, players writing "Pray for Boston" on a stick or skate, and the Bruins and Buffalo Sabres joining to salute the crowd with raised sticks on Wednesday. In a touching gesture, Phoenix defenseman Keith Yandle - a Boston native - wore a jersey in warmups Saturday with the name of 8-year-old bombing casualty Martin Richard on the back. Calgary goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff, expected to retire after the season, was serenaded by fans after the Flames' home finale Friday.