"They applauded long and hard during the glitzy pregame introductions for reigning league most valuable player Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Bobby Ryan and, of course, the age-defying Teemu Selanne.

One of them would surely score, right? Or failing that, serve as a skillful playmaker during the Ducks' opener at Honda Center.

None of that happened, and it didn't matter. Not with Jonas Hiller tending goal for the Ducks on Friday night. Hiller recorded his 12th career shutout, facing 31 shots in the Ducks' 1-0 win against the San Jose Sharks. Rookie center Maxime Macenauer got the game-winner, his first NHL goal, at 13:59 of the first period.

Welcome to old-school hockey.

Hiller, who was plagued by vertigo symptoms for most of the second half of last season, felt he was back even before this memorable showing. But any shutout, his first since Feb. 13 at Edmonton, makes a statement.

And shutting out the Sharks turns the statement into an emphatic one.

"You don't have a chance in the NHL without solid goaltending, and Jonas tonight provided a little bit more than solid," Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle said. "Again, we've talked about his injury and his ailments are something of the past. And now we've got to maintain keeping him fresh and giving him the opportunity to play game in, game out."

Said the Sharks' Joe Thornton: "We know what he's all about. He's a great goaltender. A world-class goalie. But we have some world-class players here that can score, so it's disappointing we couldn't score on him tonight.""