5 Reasons: Why Ducks advanced

ANAHEIM -- The Anaheim Ducks completed their fifth best-of-7 sweep in history with a 3-1 victory in Game 4 against the Calgary Flames in their Western Conference First Round series on Wednesday.
Defenseman Cam Fowler missed the entire series because of a knee injury, and defenseman Sami Vatanen missed the final three games because of an upper-body injury. Shea Theodore stepped up with five points (two goals, three assists) and defensemen Kevin Bieksa, Hampus Lindholm and Brandon Montour combined for seven assists and a plus-12 rating.
Here are 5 reasons the Ducks advanced to the second round:

1. COMING IN HOT

The Ducks were 11-0-3 entering the Stanley Cup Playoffs and carried that momentum into the postseason. They haven't lost in regulation since March 10.
"We're a deep team," Bieksa said. "We got contributions every game from a different guy. Just plugged away and played two good road games to wrap it up."

2. STELLAR GOALTENDING

John Gibson started all four games and finished with a 2.60 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage. When he gave up four goals on 16 shots in Game 3, backup Jonathan Bernier came in and stopped all 16 shots he faced, allowing the Ducks to rally for a 5-4 overtime win after trailing 4-1.
"I wasn't the best the other night and the team helped me out," Gibson said after making 36 saves in Game 4 victory. "I wanted to make sure I helped them out tonight."

3. CAPTAIN CLUTCH

Forward Ryan Getzlaf scored the first and last goals of the series and did plenty in between to get Anaheim past the first round. Getzlaf had five points (three goals, two assists) averaging a team-high 22:19 of ice time.
"Our group did a good job staying focused," Getzlaf said. "It's our job to settle things down and play the way we did throughout."

4. STEPPING UP

Ducks forward Nate Thompson missed more than three months of the season recovering from Achilles tendon surgery and didn't have his first goal until his 30th game. That came on a game-tying goal in the third period of the regular-season finale against the Los Angeles Kings on April 9, which helped Anaheim clinch the Pacific Division title.
Thompson had a goal and two assists in Game 3 and a goal in Game 4. Ducks coach Randy Carlyle moved Thompson onto a line with Corey Perry and Rickard Rakell in Game 3 and Perry scored the game-winner to finish at a playoff franchise-record plus-5.
Thompson, Perry and Rakell combined for three goals and seven assists in the final two games of the series.
"I just wanted to help contribute and go out there and make some plays," Thompson said before Game 4. "Make some things happen."

5. EXPERIENCE COUNTS

Coming into the series, the Ducks had won 25 of 49 postseason games since the 2009-10 season. The Flames had combined for five playoff wins in 11 playoff games in that time.
Anaheim's experience was on full display after falling behind 4-1 midway through the second period of Game 3, and rallying for a victory.
"We've been in some games where we've been able to experience those moments when there's high pressure," forward Andrew Cogliano said.