Marcus Sorensen and Joonas Donskoi delivered the fast start San Jose coach Peter DeBoer wanted and Martin Jones did the rest to help the Sharks tie their playoff series with Vegas at two games apiece.

Sorensen and Donskoi scored in the first period and Jones made 34 saves for his sixth career postseason shutout as the Sharks bounced back from an overtime loss to beat the Golden Knights 4-0 in Game 4 on Wednesday night.

”We’d been chasing the game the whole series Julien Davenport Jersey ,” DeBoer said. ”We talked about it, but it’s easier said than done. I think we’ve had chances in the last two games to get out in front, but (Marc-Andre) Fleury has I think been exceptional, especially early in games, in order to keep us off the board. It’s nice that we’ve stuck with it, and hopefully we see some cracks.”

Tomas Hertl added his team-leading fifth goal of the playoffs and Joe Pavelski scored a power-play goal in the third to set up a best-of-three for a spot in the Western Conference Final.

Game 5 is Friday night in Las Vegas.

Fleury made 30 saves and Vegas failed to convert on all five power-play chances while losing for the second time in eight games this postseason.

”They were a little more competitive than we were tonight,” Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. ”We didn’t play a bad game, but we didn’t play well enough to win and they did, and they really did. I think we played well enough to win all of the first three, but tonight? No.”

Jones was a big reason for that Walter Payton Jersey , starting with a key save early against Reilly Smith. Jones was helped on a delayed penalty when Brent Burns cleared a puck off the goal line and when James Neal hit the post on a power play in the first period.

But the San Jose goalie also delivered some big-time saves, including back-to-back stops against William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault on a Vegas power play in the final minute of the second. Jones then turned aside Smith on a power play in the third.

Jones tied Evgeni Nabokov’s team record for most saves in a playoff shutout, and the Sharks have turned things around following a 7-0 loss in the opener.

”I thought we probably managed the puck a little bit better for the whole game,” Jones said. ”We won battles on the boards, we got pucks out when we needed to and we got pucks in when we needed to. That was big for us tonight.”

Hertl helped give Jones a cushion with his goal early in the second. Logan Couture won an offensive zone faceoff against Erik Haula, and Mikkel Boedker took the puck behind the net for a wraparound attempt. Hertl was in front and knocked in the loose puck to make it 3-0.

Pavelski’s goal on the rebound of Couture’s shot sealed the game midway through the third.

The Sharks made some changes from Game 3, with defenseman Joakim Ryan returning to the lineup for the first time since March 16 in place of Paul Martin, and Donskoi getting back in after missing the previous game with a lower-body injury.

After an early giveaway led to a scoring chance for Vegas, Ryan fared well and stripped William Carrier of the puck to thwart a chance for the Golden Knights.

San Jose then scored twice in the final five minutes of the first period. Sorensen struck first, using a pick from linemate Eric Fehr to get loose from the corner and then skate around two defenseman to beat Fleury with his fourth goal of the playoffs.

The Sharks added to the lead with 5.1 seconds to go when Donskoi skated from his own zone and beat Fleury with a wrist shot from the high slot.

”At the start of the game they actually had some better looks than we did. I think they came out hard and better than we did and then Marcus scored and Joonas’ goal was big as well Rob Havenstein Jersey ,” Couture said. ”The 2-0 goal was a massive goal heading into the first intermission.”

Vegas was never able to recover from that early deficit.

”We got caught a little bit sleeping in the first period and they took advantage,” Marchessault said.

NOTES: Nabokov made 34 saves in playoff shutouts against Calgary in 2004 and Detroit in 2007. … Vegas had outscored the opposition 7-1 in the first period through its first seven games this postseason. … Sorensen has five goals in 14 playoff games compared to six in 51 regular-season games.

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More NHL hockey: Carolina is a long shot to make the playoffs. Coach Bill Peters is still looking for a strong finish for the Hurricanes.

Justin Faulk scored midway through the second period, and Carolina beat the Washington Capitals 4-1 on Friday night to remain in the postseason race.

It was the fourth win in five games for the Hurricanes, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2009. Carolina must win its final four games while Florida and New Jersey lose their remaining games in regulation to play beyond the regular season.

Asked if the playoffs were a realistic goal, Peters answered tersely: ”No.” But Peters believes there are genuine incentives for his team.

”You’ve got to play,” he said. ”These guys are pros. You’re paid to play.”

Metropolitan Division-leading Washington had won five in a row. Michal Kempny scored his first goal with the Capitals after he was acquired in a February trade with Chicago.

”We’ve been playing great the last month,” Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly said. ”I don’t want to say this was expected, but a game like this maybe was going to happen eventually. It was probably better tonight than Sunday.”

Washington visits Pittsburgh on Sunday, and the teams have a long history.

”Overall, obviously we don’t like those guys Donte Jackson Jersey ,” Smith-Pelly said. ”It’s a huge game. We’ll be back.”

Carolina goaltender Scott Darling stopped 20 shots, and Braden Holtby had 26 saves for Washington.

Capitals coach Barry Trotz thought his team was simply outplayed.

”This league is way too good if you have a little bit of an off-night or you’re not on your `A’ game, this league can humble you in a very hard way and a quick way,” Trotz said. ”We didn’t have enough invested. We didn’t have enough guys pulling on the rope.”

Kempny put the Capitals in front at 2:35 of the second, but Carolina’s Derek Ryan quickly responded. He beat Holtby for his 14th goal at 3:15.

”There’s pride on the line,” Ryan said. ”We’re not quite in the playoff race. We’re not eliminated, but we realize where we’re at. We’re just continuing to play our game. We’re not thinking about it. We have four games, so we’re going to make those games count.”

Faulk’s eighth goal of the season put the Hurricanes ahead to stay at 11:43. It was Faulk’s first goal since he scored three times in a 7-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 13.

Sebastian Aho’s 28th goal at 14:36 of the third made it 3-1, and Brock McGinn added an empty-netter at 17:50.

NOTES: Trotz said he enjoyed the story of emergency goalie Scott Foster’s outstanding performance for Chicago on Thursday night. Trotz doesn’t know who the Capitals’ emergency goalies are. ”I just know that we have them,” Trotz said. ”Someone has a phone book with numbers. If you need a goalie T.J. Lang Jersey , you start phoning. … I’d like to meet them, just not on our bench.” … Washington F Lars Eller played in his 600th career game. . Capitals F T.J. Oshie, who had an assist on Kempny’s goal, logged just 14 minutes of playing time, his lowest since Dec. 30. Trotz said Oshie was being checked for an injury, but wouldn’t comment on its specifics. … Carolina D Jaccob Slavin had two assists.

UP NEXT

Hurricanes: Host New York Rangers on Saturday

Capitals: Visit Pittsburgh on Sunday

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