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Ducks vs. Jets: 3 things you need to know

Bruce Fedyck / Reuters

Two teams that are significant to former NHLer Teemu Selanne will match up in the first round of a Western Conference playoff series that begins Thursday.

Ducks' postseason jitters

Based on the last two postseasons, the Anaheim Ducks won't have an easy series against the Winnipeg Jets.

Anaheim was eliminated in the first round of the 2013 playoffs by the Detroit Red Wings and was handled by the Los Angeles Kings in the second round in 2014. 

The Ducks also had an incredibly tough time with the Dallas Stars in the opening round last season.

What was similar about all of those teams? They were all seeded lower than the Ducks.

Winnipeg played as well as Anaheim coming into the postseason, and meets the lower-seed criteria, so it should stand a chance against the Western Conference champs.

Ondrej Pavelec

Pavelec is as streaky a netminder as you'll find in the league. One day, he's letting in shots from center ice, and a month later he's reeling off three consecutive shutouts.

If Pavelec is on, the Ducks are in trouble. 

If he's off, the Jets will have to rely on rookie Michael Hutchinson - who has zero playoff experience - between the pipes.

In his two appearances against Anaheim this season, Pavelec allowed four goals in each game.

Taking advantage on the power play

The Ducks finished 28th in the league in converting on the power play at 15.7 percent. Only the Colorado Avalanche and Buffalo Sabres were worse. 

The Jets' rough-and-tumble style of play sends them to the penalty box a lot. They finished second in the league with 1,068 penalty minutes, behind only the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Anaheim needs to figure out its power play and capitalize on Winnipeg's obvious weakness. The Ducks will also need to be careful as the Jets scored a league-leading 10 shorthanded goals this season.

The series schedule is as follows:

DATE TIME (ET) LOCATION NETWORKS
Thursday April 16 10:30 p.m. Anaheim CNBC; Sportsnet; TVA Sports
Saturday April 18 10:30 p.m. Anaheim NBCSN; Sportsnet; TVA Sports
Monday April 20 9 p.m. Winnipeg NBCSN; Sportsnet; TVA Sports
Wednesday April 22 9:30 p.m. Winnipeg Sportsnet; TVA Sports; USA
*Friday April 24 TBD Anaheim Sportsnet
*Sunday April 26 TBD Winnipeg Sportsnet
*Tuesday April 28 TBD Anaheim Sportsnet

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