Sharks win Game 4, sweep Ducks in Western series

SAN JOSE --The San Jose Sharks completed a series sweep with a 2-1 victory against the Anaheim Ducks in Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round at SAP Center on Wednesday.
The Sharks, who earned the second Stanley Cup Playof sweep in their history, will play the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round.

"I'm just really proud of our group, the resiliency, the composure," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "We asked them to come into this series and play with composure. We knew what we were going to get, they were going to try to push us out of the series physically. We stood in there and did it without taking penalties and with discipline."
WATCH: [All Ducks vs. Sharks highlights | Complete series coverage]
The Ducks, who coming off an 8-1 loss in Game 3 on Monday after losing the first two games at home, played their best game of the series.
"We came at them pretty hard, obviously a couple of bounces here and there and it's a different hockey game," Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf said. "Their goaltender [Martin Jones] played absolutely outstanding. We just couldn't get it by him.
"Overall, I was happy with the way we played, we responded. Nobody gave up after the Game 3 result, but ultimately we had the same fate."

Marcus Sorensen scored in the first period, and Tomas Hertl broke a tie in the third period for San Jose. Jones made 30 saves.
Andrew Cogliano scored for Anaheim, and John Gibson made 22 saves.
"You never expect a sweep," Sharks forward Logan Couture said. "You always want a sweep. You always want to win every game you play, but they're a very, very good team over there. They didn't have their best in a few games. I thought they played pretty well tonight."
The Sharks scored first for the third time in the series when Sorensen, a fourth-line wing, knocked in a rebound on his second try at 5:43 of the first period.
Anaheim tied it 1-1 at 7:53 of the third period on Cogliano's goal from the slot.
The Sharks took a 2-1 lead at 9:09 when Hertl redirected Marc-Edouard Vlasic's point shot from the slot.
"Obviously, it's a big character goal to come right back," Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said. "The second period was probably our worst period of the series. Credit to them, they came with a push, and [Jones] made some huge saves there. The [penalty kill] was enormous for us. But, definitely it was tough. It was still 1-1. That happens. To come back within a couple shifts, bang one in, it got the energy right back in the building."

The Sharks held the Ducks to three shots on goal after Hertl scored.
"They skated on us and they took it to us and we took too many penalties in the first few games and they capitalized," Ducks forward Corey Perry said."
The Ducks appeared to tie the game 1-1 27 seconds into the third period on a power-play goal by Rickard Rakell from the left circle. But DeBoer requested a coach's challenge to review whether Anaheim was offside before the goal, and it was determined that Rackell and Perry were, and the goal was disallowed.
"I don't look at the replays here," DeBoer said. "That's [video coach] Dan Darrow and his group in the back. His response was immediate. I think [assistant coach] Steve Spott said to him, 'Are you 100 percent sure? If you're wrong we get a penalty here.' He's got that pressure he's dealing with. That's a huge call at that point in the game. He made it and it was a big one for us."

Goal of the game

Hertl's goal at 9:09 of the third period.

Save of the game

Jones stopping Perry with 26 seconds left in the second period.

Highlight of the game

Sorensen's goal at 5:43 of the first period.

They said it

"Tonight was probably more of the type of game that we expected of ourselves and they probably expected from us, and for whatever reason we weren't able to put together 60 in the previous three games at the level that was required. Tonight was a much more competitive game in all three zones, was more of the type of hockey that these two clubs have played against one another, and that's what's so disappointing for us." -- Ducks coach Randy Carlyle
"All I can tell you is I remember playing them in November and going, 'This isn't a mirage. These guys are for real.' Their game was real, the way they came at you, the tenacity they played with the depth they have. That opinion for me hasn't changed in any of the games we played them, and it went back as far as November when we played them early. Great test for us." -- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer on facing the Vegas Golden Knights

Need to know

Hertl, Sorensen and Evander Kane tied for the Sharks high for goals in the series with three. ... San Jose outscored Anaheim 16-4 in the four games. The 12-goal differential is the largest in Sharks playoff history. ... San Jose swept the Vancouver Canucks in the 2013 Western Conference Quarterfinals. ... Perry, who led the Ducks with five shots in Game 4, went without a point in the series. … The Ducks had not been swept in a playoff series since 1999, when they lost to the Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference Quarterfinals.

What's next

Ducks:Season over
Sharks: At the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 1 of Western Conference Second Round, TBA