Just stop Dan Boyle and the San Jose Sharks if you’ve heard this one before: Hockey team starts the season well, wraps up its division title and Presidents Trophy, thinks the playoffs will be just as easy, is eliminated prematurely.

Boyle called it out rather openly after the Sharks’ second straight loss, 4-2 on Sunday to the Anaheim Ducks.

“We cannot not work hard, even though we are sitting good here, as far as our confidence in our playoff spot is concerned,” the defenseman said. “Last year we were in the same position. If we are going to coast in, we are going to coast our way back out.”

The Ducks and Panthers, who pulled out a rare overtime win at San Jose on Saturday, are fighting for their playoff lives. The Sharks aren’t and, for the last five seasons, really haven’t had to. They haven’t finished the regular season with fewer than 99 points since 2002-03, a remarkable streak that could qualify as a dynasty – if not for those pesky playoffs.

San Jose has missed the playoffs only once since 2000, but has failed to advance past the second round all but one of those seasons – in 2004, when it bowed to Calgary in six games for the Western Conference championship.

Perhaps Sunday’s loss in Anaheim awoke memories of last season’s first-round exit at the hands of the eighth-seeded Ducks.

“I don’t know where our mindset is,” head coach Todd McLellan said. “We are coming into a building that is hard to play in.”

With any other team, back-to-back losses in May wouldn’t evoke memories of an entire decade of postseason failures. And, to be fair, the Sharks were coming off three straight wins entering Saturday’s contest.

Said McLellan, “The past three or four games, we’ve played really well. Tonight wasn’t a good game. If you ask me, at this moment, yes, I’m concerned about tonight. But we have to look at the big picture and for the last three or four games, we’ve had real good efforts.”

Sunday’s game was the first of a six-game road trip for the Sharks. But whether or not the lesson sinks in won’t be revealed until the postseason.

 

A pair of conflicting reports circulated this week regarding the sale of the Coyotes to Ice Edge Holdings, LLC. The pessimistic view originated, perhaps not surprisingly, in Canada, as Globe and Mail columnist David Shoalts reported Thursday that the sale “will not even get off the runway.” A more positive rebuttal by Anthony LeBlanc was picked up south of the border by the Arizona Republic, who quoted the Ice Edge CEO as saying “we certainly expect that this will be closed by the time that the Stanley Cup is awarded this year.” … Forward Lee Stempniak scored five goals in three games last week to earn “Second Star of the Week” honors by the NHL. Since he was acquired from Toronto at the trade deadline, Stempniak has six goals and one assist in five games, all wins for the Coyotes. … Saturday’s win over Carolina set the Coyotes record for most wins in a season (41). The 2001-02 team went 40-27-9-6. The franchise record is 43, set by the Winnipeg Jets in 1983-84. … G Ilya Bryzgalov’s eighth shutout of the season Saturday tied the franchise record, set by Nikolai Khabibulin in 1998-99. … Forward Viktor Tikhonov was recalled from Cherepovets of the KHL, where he had been on loan from the Coyotes since Nov. 28. The 21-year-old appeared in 25 games and scored 14 goals, second on the team. Tikhonov had two goals in 18 games for AHL affiliate San Antonio this season. … D Mathieu Schneider returned to the lineup Sunday after missing a month following arthroscopic knee surgery. The 40-year-old logged 21:21 and took a team-high five shots, but did not record a point.

 

Forwards Teemu Selanne and Ryan Getzlaf are questionable for Wednesday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks after each suffered game-ending injuries Sunday against the San Jose Sharks. An MRI exam Monday revealed a slight sprain in Selanne’s left shoulder, while an MRI on Getzlaf’s left ankle revealed inflammation in the area but no further damage. Both are listed as day-to-day. … Forward Kyle Calder was recalled from AHL Toronto. In a previous 14-game stint with Anaheim, Calder had no goals and two assists. … Sunday’s win snapped a five-game losing streak to start the post-Olympic schedule. The Ducks have dropped from two points out of the final playoff spot to 10. … Friday’s loss to Nashville was the Predators’ first regulation win in Anaheim since Jan. 31, 2001. … D Lubomir Visnovsky has been arguably the team’s most consistent player since he arrived in Anaheim at the NHL trade deadline, scoring three goals in six games as a Duck. Visnovsky, coincidentally, was Parros’ roommate during the enforcer’s rookie year with the Kings.

 

RW Justin Williams returned from a broken leg Friday in Dallas after missing just 28 games. He played 12:15 against the Stars and 15:18 Sunday against Nashville. … G Jonathan Quick missed Friday’s game to be with his wife, Jaclyn, for the birth of the couple’s first child. Madison Mychal Quick was born at 9:15 a.m. Friday and her father was back at practice the next day. … Jonathan Bernier was recalled from AHL affiliate Manchester, started in Quick’s place, and outdueled Marty Turco to capture the shootout victory. It was the first NHL win for the 21-year-old since he made his debut on Sept. 29, 2007 when the Kings opened that season against Anaheim in London, England. Bernier was returned to Manchester on Sunday. … Forward prospect Bud Holloway, currently playing for AHL affiliate Manchester, is profiled on the Monarchs’ Web site.

 

Mike Modano is out after undergoing surgery to remove his appendix Monday. The 39-year-old center told Dallas Morning News beat writer Mike Heika via text message that the appendix did not rupture and he’ll be out 1-2 weeks. … G Kari Lehtonen will start Tuesday’s game against San Jose, according to the Morning News. It will be his first start since he allowed six goals on 34 shots in a loss to Pittsburgh on March 6. … Speaking of his team’s 1-5-1 record since the Olympic break, former analyst Marc Crawford told the Morning News “any criticism that is thrown our way, we have to be man enough to take it. … We’ll take the criticism. It’s justified.” ... D Stephane Robidas is still without a goal this calendar year, a streak of 28 games. He had a 10-game pointless streak snapped March 6. The 33-year-old still has 10 goals this season, tied for 10th among NHL defenseman. … RW Brandon Segal had the first two-goal game of his NHL career Sunday against Colorado. The Stars lost, 5-3.

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