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It took one trip to Las Vegas early in the season for the San Jose Sharks to realize that the fast start to the season for the expansion Golden Knights was no fluke.So it should come as little surprise to the Sharks that they have to get past Vegas in the second round of the playoffs starting Thursday night to reach the Western Conference final for the fourth time in the past nine seasons.”I remember playing them in November and walking in and going Jay Beagle Jersey Womens , `This isn’t a mirage. These guys are for real,”’ Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. ”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.”The Golden Knights brought relentless speed to a Pacific Division that had been known in recent years for heavy teams that thrived on wearing down opponents with physical play.The group of castoffs raced past the rest of the division for 109 points in the regular season and then swept a Los Angeles Kings team that always seemed to be a step behind in the first round of the playoffs.”We played them a couple of times early and you figured out this team is for real and will be tough for years to come,” Sharks defenseman Justin Braun said. ”They have great speed and the coach has them going hard. We’re going to have to match that every shift.”The Sharks have embraced the league’s transition to a faster game in recent years, making it a priority following a loss in the Stanley Cup Final to Pittsburgh two years ago.The transformation really took hold this season after top-line center Joe Thornton went out with a knee injury in January and the Sharks acquired Evander Kane and Eric Fehr the following month, adding both speed and depth to the forward group that should test the unproven Golden Knights.”I would assume it’ll be a bit more fast-paced a bit, maybe a little more open hockey,” Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury said. ”I think LA was a team that played well defensively Curtis McKenzie Jersey Womens , but they don’t create as much offensively. With these guys we’re going to have to do a little more up and down.”Here are some other things to watch in this series:GOALIE SHOWDOWNThe series features a matchup of two of the NHL’s hottest goalies. Fleury allowed just three goals in a first-round sweep, leading the league with a .977 save percentage and 0.65 goals against average. San Jose’s Martin Jones was nearly as stingy, allowing four goals against Anaheim for a .970 save percentage and 1.0 GAA. Jones’ career .931 save percentage is third best ever among goalies with at least 20 playoff games.SPECIAL TEAMSOne of the few things Vegas didn’t do well in the first round was capitalize on power plays, scoring on just 1 of 12 chances after converting on 21.4 percent in the regular season. The Sharks were among the best penalty killers all season, ranking second at 84.8 percent. San Jose’s power play has been a bit of a roller coaster this season, struggling early and late but thriving for a stretch in the middle of the year. The Sharks were 6 for 20 in the opening round.”It does become more important as the playoffs go on that you win the special teams battle,” DeBoer said. ”Both teams take a lot of pride in those areas so it should be a good test.”BIG BURNSThe Sharks rely heavily on defenseman Brent Burns‘ big shot to generate offense. He had nine shots and a goal in Game 1 of the last round before the Ducks seemed to put extra emphasis on shutting him down. Vegas figures to do the same.”When he’s on the ice, you got to pay special attention to him,” coach Gerard Gallant said. ”The wingers can’t fall asleep up high and let him go down the backdoor and give him a lot of shots to the net. That’s what they do, they focus on getting pucks to the net.”LONG BREAKBoth teams figure to be well-rested for this series after sweeping the first round. San Jose will have seven full days since beating Anaheim, while Vegas has had eight days off since finishing off Los Angeles. This marks just the second time in the past 22 years that teams will meet in the playoffs after sweeping the previous round.JUMBO JOEThe Sharks will once again start the series without star center Thornton Nick Holden Jersey Womens , who has been out since Jan. 23 with a knee injury. DeBoer ruled Thornton out for at least Game 1 and there is no timeline for when he will be ready to return.—AP freelancer W.G. Ramirez in Las Vegas contributed to this report.— DALLAS (AP) — John Tavares and the Toronto Maple Leafs are just getting used to each other.So far, so good.Tavares and Auston Matthews each had two goals, and the high-scoring Maple Leafs beat the Dallas Stars 7-4 on Tuesday night.Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly had a career-high four assists after he scored the winning goal in Sunday night’s 7-6 overtime win at Chicago. Mitchell Marner had a goal and three assists as the Maple Leafs improved to 2-0 on a four-game trip.Led by Matthews and Tavares, Toronto has won three of its first four games, averaging five goals per contest. Matthews has seven goals and three assists already. Tavares, who signed a blockbuster deal with his hometown Maple Leafs this summer, has scored five of his six goals in the past two games.“When it’s always going in, it’s always a really good feeling,” Matthews said. “You want to continue to generate chances because it’s going to get harder and harder as the season goes along.”Tyler Seguin had a goal and three assists for Dallas, and Alexander Radulov finished with a goal and two assists.Ben Bishop, who had stopped 62 of 63 shots to help the Stars to a 2-0 start Paul Stastny Jersey Womens , made 23 saves.Frederik Andersen had 30 stops for the Maple Leafs.The Leafs grabbed control by scoring three times in the last 8:01 of the second period for a 5-2 lead. Matthews and Tavares scored on the power play, and Ron Hainsey put in a shot from the blue line at even strength for his first goal this season.“What I like about the power play is we’re not trying to make any highlight-reel plays,” Tavares said. “I think we’re just kind of sticking with our structure and what we believe is going to work for us.”Toronto was 2 for 3 on the power play.“We have to do a better job killing penalties than we did tonight,” Stars coach Jim Montgomery said. “We made it too easy. They make it hard on you. Those were some really nice goals they scored.”Dallas’ top line continued to provide most of the Stars’ scoring. Seguin posted his second straight four-point game. Radulov scored for the third straight game, and Jamie Benn scored his third power-play goal.The Stars had 17 giveaways by 12 different players.“Their speed and their creativity forced those mistakes,” Montgomery said. “Our execution wasn’t where it needed to be against a real good hockey club.”Marner scored unassisted at 9:40 of the first period, putting the Stars behind for the first time this season.Dallas tied it at 17:23. Seguin passed ahead to Radulov inside the right faceoff circle, and he sent a low wrist shot past Andersen into the left corner of the net.Matthews broke the tie with a slap shot at 18:58 for a 2-1 lead after one period.The Stars tied it again at 9:04 of the second. Esa Lindell sent a long pass to Seguin in the neutral zone. He outmaneuvered Hainsey and skated in alone on Andersen for a wrist shot inside the right goalpost.Matthews put Toronto in the lead to stay 39 seconds into the game’s first power play, at 11:39.Stars defenseman John Klingberg scored 2:39 into the third, but Tavares converted a wraparound at 4:55 to restore the two-goal margin. Connor Brown added an empty-net goal at 16:40.NOTES: Matthews has scored two goals in three games this season. The power-play goal was his second. … RW Valeri Nichushkin (lower-body injury) made his season debut. He was playing for the Stars for the first time since 2015-16 after playing the last two years in Russia. … Toronto C Frederik Gauthier played in his first game this season.UP NEXTMaple Leafs: Visit Detroit on Thursday.Stars: Conclude their season-opening four-game homestand against Anaheim on Saturday.