Photo credit: @sliccardo

By Jerry Feitelberg

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks swept the Anaheim Ducks, winning 2-1 Wednesday night to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Team Teal draws the Pacific Division champions, the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, who capped a shocking regular season run with a sweep of the Los Angeles Kings to open their first postseason foray.

Tomas Hertl responded to an Anaheim third period goal with the game-winner just 1:16 later. Marcus Sorensen also scored his third goal of the playoffs for San Jose. Premature Conn Smythe candidate Martin Jones made 30 saves for his 19th career playoff win, allowing four goals over the four-game masterpiece.

Jones needed to be stingy, thanks to four Anaheim power plays but the North Vancouver native was locked in. The lone blemish on the netminder’s ledger came 7:53 into the final period as a result of lax defense.

Brent Burns failed to stop a zone entry from the Ducks that saw the Puck skitter down the boards into the corner to Jones’ left. Ryan Kesler dug the Puck free, catching Burns sagged too far off to prevent a centering pass from behind the net. Kesler connected with Andrew Cogliano just a few feet out in the slot for a jam shot past Jones.

Hertl responded, stymieing a momentum shift before it could take hold. His shot through traffic beat netminder John Gibson to give the Sharks a 2-1 lead with just under 11 minutes left.

The final moments of play proved tense, with the Sharks producing a number of near-misses with Gibson pulled for the extra attacker. Ultimately though, San Jose bled the clock out to wrap up a date with Vegas.

Coach Peter DeBoer’s Sharks weren’t expected to handily dispatch the Ducks after stumbling out of home ice in the first round with a 1-4-1 record over the final six games of the first round. The strengths that made the Sharks look a near-lock to host in the first round in Mid-March were on display throughout the first series of the playoffs, chiefly good goaltending and scoring depth.

Look no further than the Sharks first scorer Wednesday day. Marcus Sorensen appeared in just 32 games with the Sharks, scoring seven points. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he’s a point-per-game player. The winger scored his third goal of the series 5:43 into the game, given San Jose its eighth point from the fourth line alone this series. Joe Pavelski, Evander Kane, Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture also are all on a point-per-game or better run.

The Sharks will need all the team speed and scoring depth they can muster against a stingy Golden Knights team. Vegas allowed just three goals in its dismissal of the Kings, with Marc-Andre Fleury collecting a pair of shutouts to add to his already polished postseason resume. Both teams will be well rested as both teams need to wait for the other six series to wrap up before beginning play.