The Anaheim Ducks will have plenty of reasons to be proud of their yearlong resilience and late-season determination to make the playoffs

ANAHEIM Thomas Vanek Jersey , Calif. (AP) The Anaheim Ducks will have plenty of reasons to be proud of their yearlong resilience and late-season determination to make the playoffs after an incredible stretch of early-season injury woes.They’ll also have plenty of time to reflect on those achievements during an extra-long summer for a team that couldn’t put it together in the postseason.The Ducks began the process of breaking up for the offseason this weekend after the San Jose Sharks completed a four-game sweep of their first-round series.”There’s a numbness that’s kind of subsiding now,” coach Randy Carlyle said. ”After the run and the season-long trials and tribulations that you go through, you get to the playoffs and win out and get second place in the division, and four games later, a week later, you’re out of it, which is really numbing.”Anaheim had made the Western Conference finals in two of the previous three seasons, and its six consecutive playoff berths constitute the second-longest active streak in the NHL. The Ducks finished with their fifth consecutive 100-point season – the league’s longest active streak – and went 10-1-1 with five straight victories to close the regular season, even surging into second place in the Pacific Division.But the Ducks’ streak of five straight Pacific titles ended, and then their season ended in embarrassing fashion.The Ducks made the playoffs for the 11th time in 13 seasons Nick Foligno Jersey , but perhaps they simply ran out of steam. Their mad dash to reach the postseason was necessitated by the slow start caused by the club’s numerous injury problems during the first half. Their top two centers – Ryan Kesler and Ryan Getzlaf – missed huge chunks of early play, while goal-scoring forward Patrick Eaves never suited up all year because of Guillain-Barre syndrome.”The adversity that we faced this year was unlike anything I’ve ever seen, especially at the start of the year,” said top defenseman Cam Fowler, who missed the playoffs with a shoulder injury. ”We grinded it out, and to get to the 100-point mark was fantastic. But at the end of the day, you have to make a name for yourself come playoff time, and unfortunately we didn’t do that this year.”Once the Ducks get over the hurt, they’ll evaluate the core of talent that remains in Anaheim after years of contention. General manager Bob Murray will have to decide whether that core is championship-caliber when healthy or whether it’s time to break up one of the NHL’s most consistent winners.Here are more things to know as the Ducks head into a long offseason:MORE SPEEDMurray is among the observers who think the Ducks simply don’t play fast enough to compete optimally in the modern NHL. The Ducks’ heavy, punishing style of play under Carlyle has won plenty of games over the past two years Authentic Oliver Bjorkstrand Jersey , but it wasn’t enough to keep them in a series with the Sharks, who aren’t even the fastest team around. Carlyle will be back next season to make the necessary changes, Murray confirmed. How much of the Ducks’ core returns will be up to Murray, who has built and rebuilt the franchise around Getzlaf and Corey Perry, who will both turn 33 next month.BEAUCH BYEDefenseman Francois Beauchemin says he is retiring after spending the past 13 seasons in the NHL, including three separate stints with Anaheim. His departure removes another link to the Ducks’ championship season, although Getzlaf, Perry and Carlyle are still around.BIEKSA NOT BACKVeteran defenseman Kevin Bieksa also indicated he is unlikely to return after three seasons. He was disappointed with his lack of playoff action after returning from hand surgery. The Ducks’ once-incredible depth on defense has been taxed in the past year with the expansion draft-related departures of Shea Theodore and Clayton Stoner and the trade of Sami Vatanen to New Jersey for Adam Henrique. Murray will need to reload the Ducks’ blue line, with prospects Jacob Larsson, Marcus Pettersson and Andy Welinski likely getting shots at a full-time job.EAVES RETURNThe season-long loss of Eaves was a huge setback Ryan Murray Jersey , but the Ducks are optimistic their heavily bearded forward will return in the fall. Eaves also had recent shoulder surgery and will turn 34 next month, but he has been the type of consistent goal scorer the Ducks lacked. He would also provide veteran leadership after the possible departures of Beauchemin, Bieksa, Antoine Vermette, Jason Chimera and others.OFFSEASON LISTSMost of the Ducks’ core is locked up through next season or beyond, including Getzlaf, Perry, Kesler, leading scorer Rickard Rakell, Andrew Cogliano Sergei Bobrovsky Jersey , Fowler and defensemen Hampus Lindholm and Josh Manson. Anaheim has several key restricted free agents: Nick Ritchie, 20-goal scorer Ondrej Kase and defensemen Brandon Montour and Welinski.— SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — With the San Jose Sharks needing a bit more punch from their bottom lines, they turned to Jumbo Joe.Joe Thornton’s move to the third line paid instant dividends.New linemate Marcus Sorenson had a goal and two assists as the Sharks beat the Minnesota Wild 4-3 on Tuesday night.The 39-year-old Thornton, a four-time All-Star, joined Sorensen, who is 26 and was playing in just his eighth career game, and 25-year-old Barclay Goodrow on the third line.The trio combined for three goals and three assists while playing their first full game together.“It’s an honor to play with him,” said Sorenson, who had his first career three-point game. “It was fun playing with him. He was good. He was great. He made some great plays and he scored a goal.”Goodrow’s second goal of the season broke a 3-all deadlock at 7:25 of the third period. Goodrow also had an assist and Martin Jones made 23 saves for the Sharks Womens Seth Jones Jersey , who had dropped six straight to Minnesota.Thornton scored his 399th career goal. He was playing in his 1,499th game, tying Mike Modano for 19th place on the NHL list.“Obviously, Jumbo’s Jumbo,” Goodrow said. “He’s a world-class player. He’s going to find you on the ice wherever you are. Marcus used his speed to get on the forecheck. We didn’t turn over a lot of pucks in the offensive zone, which led to offensive zone time and scoring chances. I think we played pretty well.”Antti Suomela scored the other San Jose goal.Sharks coach Peter DeBoer attributed the win to his team’s depth.“I thought all the guys got going tonight. Antti got us a goal, Goody got us a goal, Sorensen got us a goal. Those are all the guys I’m referring to. . I thought all those guys were real good. I thought Joe Thornton was real good tonight. The whole depth of our lineup I thought was very good.”Jared Spurgeon and Matt Dumba scored 2:05 apart for the Wild to tie it at 3 early in the third period. Zach Parise also had a goal for Minnesota, and Devan Dubnyk turned back 18 shots.Minnesota (8-4-2) had won seven of eight overall and was 12-6-2 over its previous 20 games against the Sharks.NOTES: Wild C Eric Staal (illness) sat out after playing in 335 straight games. … C Matt Hendricks was back in the lineup even though he wasn’t expected to return from a lower-body injury until Thursday. … Wild forward Mikael Granlund had his point streak snapped at 10 games. … Sharks C Logan Couture had his point streak stopped at nine games. … San Jose had just two shots on goal in the first period. … Sharks C Tomas Hertl is day to day with a head injury sustained Saturday in a collision with Flyers defenseman Christian Folin.UP NEXTWild: At the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night.Sharks: At the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.