Very little separated San Jose and Anaheim in the regular season Robert Golden Color Rush Jersey , with the Ducks edging out the Sharks by one point for second place in the Pacific Division.
Their first-round series wasn’t nearly as competitive.
The Sharks rode their superior depth, potent power play and stellar goaltending from Martin Jones to the second sweep in franchise history, knocking out the Ducks with a 2-1 victory on Wednesday night.
”We’re playing well going into the second round,” defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic said. ”Everybody is contributing if it’s offensively, blocking shots, taking a hit. Everybody is doing what they have to for us to win.”
After jumping on Anaheim early to win the first two games on the road, the Sharks earned a lopsided win in Game 3 thanks to undisciplined play by the Ducks and then withstood a strong push to end the series in Game 4.
Jones kept Anaheim at bay for long stretches in the second and third period before finally allowing a tying goal to Andrew Cogliano. San Jose then took 1:16 to answer and scored the eventual series-clincher when Vlasic’s point shot deflected off Tomas Hertl and into the net.
”The response goal was huge,” coach Peter DeBoer said. ”We were on our heels. They were pressing. It’s tough to play an elimination game when you get an opportunity to sweep a really good team like that.”
San Jose got as many goals from its fourth line in the series as Anaheim had from its entire team with Marcus Sorensen scoring his third of the series to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead in the first period of the clincher. Eric Fehr also had a goal from the fourth line in the series.
”Every night they hopped over the boards with energy and grabbed momentum for us, drew penalties,” DeBoer said. ”They were fantastic, but I’ve said from Day 1 we need to be a four-line team if we’re going to have success. And I think the teams that are moving through are. I watched Vegas a little bit last night. They’re a four-line team.”
The expansion Golden Knights are also the next team in the Sharks’ way. The two will meet in the second round starting sometime next week in just the second series in the past 22 years featuring teams coming off sweeps in the previous round.
Vegas finished off the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night, part of a record-setting inaugural campaign that included a Pacific Division title in the regular season.
The Sharks will likely need another strong defensive effort next round led by Jones. He was brilliant in the clincher, making several tough saves against Corey Perry. He also had a shutout in Game 1 and set a San Jose playoff record with 45 regulation saves in Game 3.
He finished the series with a .970 save percentage, helping the Sharks earn their second sweep in franchise history after also doing it in the first round against Vancouver in 2013.
”Goaltending wins this time of the year Taron Johnson Color Rush Jersey ,” forward Logan Couture said. ”He was fantastic. He made a lot of Grade A saves. He was our best penalty killer. They had some really good looks. Perry had a lot of chances that Joner made some big saves on.”
By extending their season another round, the Sharks may be able to get star center Joe Thornton back in the lineup. Thornton has been out since injuring his right knee on Jan. 23. He has resumed skating and took part in warmups throughout the series but has said he doesn’t want to return until he knows he’s healthy enough to help the team and make it through what he hopes will be a run to the Stanley Cup Final.
The Sharks have time now to figure that out.
”That’s all hypothetical,” DeBoer said. ”That doesn’t even cross our desk. Those decisions will be something if he is healthy we’ll make then. Sometimes those things sort themselves out. I’m just really proud of our group, the resiliency, the composure.”
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Record-setting wins don’t get much hollower than Florida’s victory Saturday night.
The Panthers were eliminated from playoff contention, even after Vincent Trocheck scored late in the third period to help hold off the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 and set a franchise mark with 27 home victories.
Florida’s slim playoff hopes ended when Philadelphia beat the New York Rangers 5-0 earlier in the day. The Panthers took out their frustration on the Sabres, going ahead 3-0 in the first period.
The Panthers’ season ends in Boston on Sunday.
”We wanted to go in tomorrow and have a chance to clinch a spot in the playoffs,” coach Bob Boughner said. ”It’s tough to have to rely on other teams. We know an hour before the game our playoff hopes were done. It was tough going into this game and getting the job done tonight.”
Jonathan Huberdeau scored a power-play goal for the Panthers. Colton Sceviour had a goal and an assist and Nick Bjugstad also scored.
”I think everybody in here is disappointed. The whole goal this year was to make the playoffs Manny Pina Milwaukee Brewers Jersey ,” Trocheck said. ”Everybody coming into the game, we were all preparing as if it was going to be a do-or-die game. Kind of went into it the same way we would have gone into it if we were in the playoffs.”
James Reimer made 38 saves in place of Roberto Luongo, who had played three games in four nights, including his 1,000th game Thursday. The Panthers also played without points leader Aleksander Barkov, who injured his shoulder late in the third period in Thursday’s game against the Bruins. Barkov will also miss Sunday’s finale.
Ryan O’Reilly, Sam Reinhart and Jason Pominville scored for Buffalo. Chad Johnson allowed three goals on 12 shots in the first period and was replaced to start the second with Adam Wilcox. Wilcox finished with 14 stops in his NHL debut.
”The guys did a good job battling for me,” Wilcox said. ”They knew it was my debut tonight. A lot of respect for them battling for me for two periods. I just wanted to give the guys a chance to get back in the game Cheap Saquon Barkley Jersey , and they did a good job of doing that.”
The Panthers were cruising but the Sabres mounted a final flurry, scoring two goals 21 seconds apart late in the third period to make it 3-2. Pominville scored on a wrist shot with 4:30 left, and Reinhart scored shortly after.
”Just to be blunt and honest, that was typically what our season was,” coach Phil Housley said. ”We couldn’t come out and start on time, and then we get the urgency to push back and get back into a game and make a game of it.”
Trocheck’s empty-netter with 1:23 left made it score 4-2. O’Reilly’s power-play tally with 15.8 left closed the gap to 4-3.
The Panthers took a 1-0 lead when Huberdeau deflected in a shot from Trocheck during a 5-on-3 power-play at 3:04 of the first. Sceviour made it 2-0 when he deflected a shot by Frank Vatrano at 10:59. Bjugstad then slid a puck under Johnson at 13:39.
NOTES: Retiring Panthers F Radim Vrbata played his last game. Vrbata played 1,057 career games, including 42 with the Panthers. ”I’m glad I got a chance to play and have my family here. My wife Ronald Jones II Color Rush Jersey , my sons, they got to see me one more time.” … O’Reilly set the NHL record for faceoff wins in a single season with 1,269 – passing Rod Brind’Amour (1,268 FOW in 2005-06). ”It’s special. It’s something I take a lot of pride in,” O’Reilly said. … A moment of silence was observed before the game in memory of the lives lost in a traffic accident Friday night involving the Humboldt Broncos, a youth hockey team from Canada.
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10.08.2018 08:03
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