Ducks to host Sharks on Thursday in Game 1 of first-round playoff series

After so much uncertainty surrounding the Ducks’ chances to qualify for the playoffs, they emerged with home-ice advantage in the first round.

A five-game winning streak to cap the regular season catapulted them to the Pacific Division’s second seed and a home game at Honda Center to start the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Ducks will host the San Jose Sharks at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinals, it was announced Sunday.

Game 2 is set for the same time on Saturday in Anaheim before the series shifts north.

The Sharks will host the Ducks for Games 3 and 4 at SAP Center on April 17 and 18, with both matchups set to start at 7:30 p.m.

If necessary, Game 5 will be played at Honda Center on April 20, with Game 6 on April 22 in San Jose and Game 7 two days later in Anaheim (times to be determined).

The only other occasion the Ducks met the Sharks in the postseason was in 2009, when Anaheim eliminated San Jose in the first round in six games.

A few of the notable players who skated in that series returning for the rematch nine years later are Ducks forwards Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, and Sharks centers Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton.