The San Jose Sharks defeated the Anaheim Ducks by a score of 2-1 on Wednesday night in San Jose. The Sharks won four straight to sweep the Ducks and move on to face the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round.
San Jose Sharks Sweep the Anaheim Ducks
The Sharks scored a late goal in the third period just 1:07 after Andrew Cogliano evened the score up for the Ducks. San Jose goalie Martin Jones was absolutely outstanding in the series. The Sharks offense exploded in the third game of the series to not only defeat the Ducks, but also to kill their spirits.
Going Down Swinging
The Ducks did not go down without a fight. They found the back of the net, just at the wrong times. Ryan Getzlaf cashed in a rebound just after the clock expired at the end of the second. Rickard Rakell found the back of the net 23 seconds into the third period, but it was disallowed on an offsides call. Andrew Cogliano did get a goal that counted, but shortly after, the Sharks Marcus Sorensen beat John Gibson and that goal held the Ducks off to the end of the third period.
Weak Play Throughout
The Ducks played weak hockey throughout the first 10 periods of this series. They came to life in the second period of the fourth game but it was too little too late. Coach Randy Carlyle‘s style of dump and chase was absolutely useless against the stifling defense of the Sharks led by Brent Burns. Not only did the dump and chase fail, but the Ducks defense failed against their opponents.
In Game 3, the Sharks offense exploded, led by Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski. The Sharks found the back of the net eight times, overpowering Rickard Rakell’s one goal. Both Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture have five points in the first four games of the postseason.
Goaltending
Martin Jones was by far the best player that the Sharks had to offer. He held the Ducks completely off the board in game one and allowed no more than two goals in any game throughout the series. He was a brick wall while John Gibson was subpar – not living up to his name by any means. Ryan Miller was never given a chance, possibly due to injury. Reto Berra was recalled before the game which might have been just precaution or Miller might have been hurt in his one period of play during Game 3.
The Sharks outplayed the Ducks. That’s all there is to it. The Ducks had a rough season and the fact that they even made the postseason and took the second place spot in the division was remarkable.
What’s Next For Each Team
The Ducks window to win a Stanley Cup might be over with the core group of players that they have now. General Manager Bob Murray might have his off-season cut out for him.
The Sharks move on to the second round to play the Vegas Golden Knights.
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