By the start of Game 1, Sharks players had grown tired of discussing Stars agitator Steve Ott and his potential impact on the series. Finally, defenseman Craig Rivet tried to add a little perspective to the Ott discussion.

"Steve Ott is a disturber on the ice, and he plays his role extremely well," Rivet said. "I think the bigger question is how do you stop Brenden Morrow, [Mike] Ribeiro and [Brad] Richards. I don't think our focus is on Steve Ott."

Chuck Carlton

Stars defenseman Philippe Boucher doesn't want to talk about his hip injury.

He doesn't want to talk about how it happened. He doesn't want to talk about when he might be back. He doesn't want to talk about how bad it made him feel when he was forced to deal with the fact he could miss a big chunk of the playoffs.

Instead, he wants to concentrate on the positives. Boucher is traveling with the Stars and said he wants to do whatever he can to help.

"It just feels good to be back with the team and around the guys," Boucher said. "If I can do anything to add to the group, I'll do that."

Mike Heika

Stars defenseman Sergei Zubov participated in the morning skate, but deemed himself not ready to play, according to coach Dave Tippett.

Zubov is recovering from an early April procedure to repair a sports hernia injury and has participated in the Stars' last three full practices.

Tippett said he doesn't want to put Zubov back in a game until he's sure he is healthy.

"It's a different situation than a normal injury," Tippett said. "He has to know that he's all right. It's a frustrating situation, but he has to know."

Mike Heika

San Jose was one of the NHL's least penalized teams in the regular season. The Sharks acknowledged they can't make the same mistakes Anaheim made in the first round against the Stars by taking foolish penalties.

"If you give a team 10 power plays in a game, they're going to look a lot different because they don't have to defend," Sharks coach Ron Wilson said. "We'll try to stay disciplined, and if we stay out of the box, it will help our chances of winning."

The Stars wound up with five power plays, scoring once.

Chuck Carlton

Jeremy Roenick and Mike Modano have met 101 times in their NHL careers. The two American-born scoring leaders first faced off when they were 15, Modano said.

"I've known him pretty much my whole life," Modano said.

In their 101 career head-to-head games, Roenick has 42 goals to Modano's 34 and 89 points to Modano's 82. Roenick's teams have won 47 times and Modano's have won 42 times.

Mike Heika

When you play hockey in 80-degree weather, you're not going to have perfect ice. Thus, the Stars have struggled to find their footing in the playoffs. Players have fallen down more often than in the regular season, and they say it's for a variety of reasons.

While many confirm the ice isn't good in the arenas in Anaheim, Dallas and San Jose, Stars captain Brenden Morrow said the tightness of the games also plays a role.

"I've fallen down as much as anyone, and what happens is you're stepping on sticks and skates and you're nicking up your blades because everyone is in a battle for the puck," he said. "It doesn't take much, and you're falling down."

Mike Heika