SAN JOSE, Calif. -- While the Colorado Avalanche spent the past few days sweating out a series victory in the first round of the playoffs, Teemu Selanne was devising ways to outwit his wife.

With a precious weekend off from the postseason grind, Selanne and many other San Jose Sharks wanted to play a little golf. Sirpa Selanne thought Teemu should spend the time with her and their children -- but the Finnish Flash figured out a way to get in 36 holes and some quality time as well.

"You have to say to your wife, 'I'm going to play golf on Saturday and Sunday, but I'm going to play both rounds on Sunday,'" Selanne said with a grin. "You've got to stay one step ahead of your wife."

With their golf games fine-tuned, the Sharks held a full practice on Monday not knowing whether Colorado or St. Louis would be their opponent in the franchise's fourth trip to the Western Conference semifinals.

With the Avalanche's 4-0 victory over the Kings on Monday night, third-seeded San Jose earned a trip to Denver for Game 1 against the defending Stanley Cup champions on Wednesday night. Game 2 is Saturday.

"I think we're very evenly matched, but when they have all of their top forwards in the lineup, it's very difficult to match up with them," center Vincent Damphousse said. "And of course, they have Patrick (Roy), and a hot goaltender can do big damage in the playoffs."

The Sharks haven't played since Friday night, when their third straight victory over Phoenix sent them into the second round, but nobody is worried about a lack of activity.

Coach Darryl Sutter allowed his players' various aches and pains -- including a nasty puncture welt on Selanne's left bicep, courtesy of the Coyotes' Krys Kolanos -- to heal during two days off. The Sharks have been playing outstanding hockey for nearly a month, so Sutter would prefer to get back in action as soon as possible.

"We'd prefer to play on Wednesday," Sutter said. "That's four days off. That's all we need."

Much has changed for the Sharks since last spring, when San Jose fell to St. Louis in the first round with largely the same roster.

Most importantly, the Sharks are healthy, with no key contributors out of the lineup. Last season, defenseman Gary Suter was lost in Game 1, while Selanne, goalie Evgeni Nabokov and defensemen Bryan Marchment and Marcus Ragnarsson were limited by various injuries.

The Sharks are hoping the extra rest doesn't cool off Nabokov, who held the Coyotes to seven goals in the five-game series for his first playoff victory. San Jose's ability to shut down Phoenix's offense bodes well for the second round, when the stakes rise against a tougher opponent.

They'll need all the defense they can get to match Roy, who recorded his 21st career playoff shutout in Game 7 on Monday night.

Sutter doesn't put any stock in the Sharks' two shutout victories in Denver during the regular season, even though they were among his team's finest moments of the winter.

"That stuff doesn't mean anything now," Sutter said. "I don't think there's anything you take from the regular season, other than a (knowledge) of their style of play."

San Jose capitalized on home-ice advantage in the first round, but center Mike Ricci, who won a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 1996, doesn't put much stock in Colorado's higher seeding. San Jose and the Avalanche both finished the season with 99 points and division titles, but Colorado won 45 games to the Sharks' 44, giving the No. 2 seed in the West to the Avalanche.

"At this stage, you don't really care," Ricci said. "I don't even think seeds matter. In 99 out of 100 series, you're going to have to win on the road to win a series."