Recap: San Jose vs. Anaheim

By Sports Network

San Jose, CA (Sports Network) - Jonathan Cheechoo scored a pair of goals and the San Jose Sharks pounded the Anaheim Ducks in convincing fashion, 4-1, in a battle of Pacific Division rivals from the HP Pavilion.

Christian Ehrhoff and Devin Setoguchi also scored for the Sharks, who got a win for new head coach Todd McLellan in his regular-season debut behind the bench. Milan Michalek and Rob Blake registered a pair of assists apiece.

Evgeni Nabokov, who had his finest season as an NHL goaltender in 2007-08 and was runner-up for the Vezina Trophy, made 25 saves to get the win.

San Jose finished atop the Pacific Division last season with 108 points and beat Calgary in the first round, but was knocked out by Dallas in the conference semifinals, marking the third straight year that the club was eliminated in the second round.

San Jose's biggest offseason addition in defenseman Dan Boyle had an assist and immediately became the anchor on defense for a Stanley Cup hopeful Sharks squad. Boyle, who was acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay during the summer, topped all teammates with 24 minutes of ice time, including a team-high 8:54 on the power-play unit.

Rob Niedermayer scored the lone goal for Anaheim, which looked lethargic next to an energized Sharks' attack. The Ducks, who finished second to San Jose in the division with 102 points, was bounced from the playoffs by Dallas in last year's opening round.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere did well in preventing a further lopsided loss, as the former Stanley Cup Finals MVP was peppered with 39 shots.

The teams skated to a scoreless tie in the first period with the Sharks failing to connect on their first power play, but Cheechoo sent a wrister past Giguere just over 2 1/2 minutes into the second.

Michalek skated into the zone and sent a cross-ice pass to the right circle, where Boyle fired a one-timer that Giguere kicked back in front and Cheechoo found the back of the net.

Cheechoo made it 2-0 Sharks on the power-play just over four minutes later. After Scott Niedermayer was sent off for high-sticking, Joe Thornton corralled a loose puck in the right corner and found Cheechoo in the slot for a quick snap shot over Giguere's right shoulder.

The Sharks again tallied with the man-advantage just under three minutes into the final period. Ehrhoff cranked a shot from the point and the puck found its way through a screen and over the right shoulder of Giguere for a 3-0 lead.

Anaheim tallied late in the third when a Steve Montador shot from just outside the left circle deflected off Rob Niedermayer's stick and past Nabokov, but Setoguchi quashed any hopes of a comeback with a backhander almost 1 1/2 minutes later.