Sharks confident they can complete sweep against Ducks

SAN JOSE -- The San Jose Sharks hold a 3-0 series lead on the Anaheim Ducks in the Western Conference First Round, a familiar position.
The last time the Sharks had a 3-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Playoffs was in 2014 against the Los Angeles Kings, when they lost the final four games of the first-round series.

San Jose hopes to close this the best-of-7 series in Game 4 at SAP Center on Wednesday (10:30 p.m. ET; GOLF, SN1, TVAS2, NBCSCA, PRIME), and captain Joe Pavelski said there were painful lessons learned in that loss against Los Angeles.
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"We just understand how much work we've put into these first three games and the commitment level," Pavelski said after practice Tuesday. "That cannot take a step back, and I think that's the biggest lesson that you can learn in the playoffs: the commitment level and what you have to sacrifice. Whether you win or lose, it has to be there on a nightly basis to give yourself the best chance."
Pavelski is one of seven Sharks who was on the team in 2014, along with forwards Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl and Joe Thornton (who is out with a knee injury), and defensemen Justin Braun, Brent Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

The Sharks defeated the Kings 6-3 in Game 1 and 7-2 in Game 2 at home in 2014. They won Game 3 4-3 in overtime at Los Angeles before the Kings won the next four games by a combined score of 18-5.
"Lessons are, you've got to close teams out," Braun said. "I think with all the turnover, a lot of guys weren't around for that or remember that. They're not thinking about that or have any idea about that, so they're just going to go out and play. We got the feeling that we can get this done, but the last one's always the hardest to put a team away."
Twelve Sharks who played in the first three games against the Ducks weren't part of that series. That includes forwards Evander Kane, Joonas Donskoi, Mikkel Boedker, Timo Meier, Chris Tierney, Kevin Labanc, Marcus Sorensen, Eric Fehr, and Melker Karlsson. They've combined for eight goals and 21 points against Anaheim.
Goaltender Martin Jones, who is 3-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average and .970 save percentage, wasn't on the Sharks in 2014. Neither were defensemen Brenden Dillon, Dylan DeMelo and Paul Martin.

"It's a different team in here, different makeup," Couture said. "Our goal right now is to try to win one at home, win the fourth game, which is a tough one."
San Jose coach Peter DeBoer arrived two seasons after the collapse against the Kings. He said he's not concerned about exorcising any demons from that loss and also isn't worried about the Sharks becoming overconfident.
"I just think we've had to work for everything we've got and nothing has come easy for us, and I think when you do that over 82 games, you realize what your identity is," DeBoer said. "We know we've been burned if we haven't shown up and worked or haven't had four lines or haven't played an honest game."
DeBoer kept all of his regulars, including Burns, off the ice Tuesday. Burns missed the final 10 minutes of the 8-1 win in Game 3, but when asked if Burns had an injury, DeBoer said he was fine.