First-round foes about as close as you can get

Eleven of past 13 Sharks-Ducks match ups decided by one goal

SAN JOSE >> The Sharks’ goal all along — or at least since they put themselves in a relatively safe position in terms of making the NHL playoffs — has been to make sure that their game was in the right place headed into the postseason.

It only happened in fits and starts. An eight-game win streak in March was followed by a 1-4-1 backslide, which included inconsistent performances against Dallas and Minnesota on their regular season-ending three-game homestand.

Will any of that matter when their series against the Anaheim Ducks opens Thursday night at Honda Center? Judging by how close

the two teams have played each other over the last three years, maybe not.

Eleven of the Sharks’ 13 games against the Ducks since the start of the 201516 season have been decided by one goal. Five of the last nine have required overtime or a shootout to decide the winner.

In short, there’s every indication that each game will come down to the tiniest of details or the slightest mistakes.

No question, then, that the Sharks need to be dialed in, as they try to put any recent struggles in the rearview mirror.

“That’s kind of the only way we can look at it right now,” defenseman Brenden Dillon said after the Sharks’ 6-3 loss to the Wild on Saturday. “We’ve got a new season starting up, we know what we have to do to play the right way to be successful.

“We saw that over that eight-game stretch and kind of in bits and pieces the last couple games. But we all know we can be better and what needs to improve.”

The Sharks had the day off Sunday and get three days to practice before they leave Wednesday afternoon for Orange County. After Thursday, games continue every other day until the end of the series, with Game 2 set for Saturday in Anaheim and games 3 and 4 in San Jose on April 16 and 18, respectively. Start time for each of the four games is 7:30 p.m.

If necessary, the series will continue with Game 5 in Anaheim on April 20, Game 6 in San Jose on April 22 and Game 7 back in Anaheim on April 24.

“Obviously we’re going to go in with the mindset of winning in their building and (taking) home ice advantage,” Sharks forward Mikkel Boedker said. “I think we have the team to do something special and that’s what we have to fight for.”

While the Sharks sputtered

down the stretch, the Ducks surged, going 10-1-1 since March 14. Their current five-game win streak includes victories over Los Angeles, Colorado and Minnesota, all playoff teams.

The Sharks and Ducks rosters have changed since the two teams last met on Feb. 11, a 3-2 shootout win for San Jose.

San Jose added forwards Evander Kane and Eric Fehr, with Kane adding much-needed scoring punch and snarl and Fehr — who has been injured but is expected to be ready for Thursday’s series opener — adding experience and size to the fourth line.

Anaheim, which had a staggering 318 man-games lost to injury this season, is without defenseman Cam Fowler, who suffered a shoulder injury April 1 and is out for the first round.

Goalie John Gibson’s availability is in question after he was also injured against the Avalanche last week. Defenseman Kevin Bieksa has not played since mid-March when he underwent hand surgery.

Still, the Ducks have been tough to stop.

Ryan Getzlaf has 10 points in his last 10 games and Rickard Rakell has 10 points in his last 11 games, setting a new career-high with his 34th goal of the season Saturday in the Ducks’ 3-0 win over Arizona.

If Gibson can’t go, Ryan Miller will likely start Game 1. Miller has won four straight starts, allowing just six goals in the process.