The Anaheim Ducks couldn't apparently care less about winning their fifth consecutive division title.
“It doesn’t matter,” veteran winger Corey Perry told Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register.
“It hasn’t mattered the last four years. Whatever happens, happens. There hasn’t been any talk in here. You could probably ask guys where we are right now and a lot of them would say we’re in a playoff spot. But it switches every single night. You just go out and you play. Let the chips fall where they fall.”
Despite their regular-season dominance since 2013, the Ducks have only a single conference final appearance to show for it, and they've been eliminated in the first round in two of the last four postseasons.
“I think right now we’re just worried about playing good hockey,” said center Nate Thompson. “Wherever we end up in the standings, it is what it is. The biggest thing is just playing well and making the playoffs and making sure our game is strong.”
Anaheim has won six of its last eight contests, while the first-place San Jose Sharks have won only four of their last 10.
“You peak at the wrong time, you’re in trouble,” Perry said. “You want to start peaking at the right time at the end of the year. Of course you want to play consistent(ly) and avoid big roller coasters all season long. You want to have a continuous straight line going up.
“But sometimes things happen and it goes down. At the same time, it’s a process. That’s all we’re looking at.”
The Ducks sit in second place in the Pacific, two points behind the Sharks with nine games remaining. The Edmonton Oilers have equaled Anaheim's 89 points in the standings, but the Ducks have a game in hand.
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