Stolarz has 45 saves as Ducks beat Sharks 4-0

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- — Anthony Stolarz made a career-high 46 saves for his third career shutout and the Anaheim Ducks beat the San Jose Sharks 4-0 on Monday night.

Alexander Volkov had two goals, Max Comtois had a goal and an assist and Rickard Rakell also scored as the Ducks beat the Sharks handily on their home ice for the second time in less than a week.

“(Stolarz) was excellent,” Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins said. “Just a 10-out-of-10 performance, especially periods two and three, when we were just totally gassed. He was fresh, he was committed. It was quite a performance.”

Martin Jones finished with 15 saves for the Sharks, who began the night four points out of the fourth and final playoff spot in the West Division and lost for the third time in four games.

Team captain Logan Couture was asked what he could say to perhaps rally his teammates moving forward.

“You’ve got to look in the mirror first before you start critiquing other guys,” he said. “We created enough offense to be in a position to win the game. We just had to tighten up defensively.”

San Jose outshot Anaheim 46-21 but was denied time and again by Stolarz, who has spent most of his career as a No. 3 goalie. He got just his seventh NHL victory since he broke into the league in the 2016-17 season.

For the second time in the past week, the Sharks appeared to come out flat against the last-place Ducks, who beat them 5-1 on Tuesday.

Anaheim took the lead just two minutes into the game when Comtois redirected a shot from Derek Grant and found the net for his team-leading 12th goal.

Later in the first, Volkov took a pass from Sam Carrick and scored for a 2-0 lead at 8:12.

The Sharks’ best scoring chance came shortly after that second goal, but Marcus Sorensen hit the crossbar on a breakaway attempt.

Otherwise, the 6-foot-6 Stolarz stopped everything as the Sharks kept firing shots his way.

“I kind of enjoyed it,” Stolarz said of his busy night. “Obviously, not having played too many games this year, when a team is throwing a lot of pucks at you, it allows you to get into a groove and settle in.”

Volkov scored his second of the night and sixth of the season at 12:19. Rakell added a score on a wrist shot that beat Martin Jones early in the third.

SHARKS ADD DRAFT PICK

In the hours leading up to Monday afternoon’s trade deadline, San Jose sent defenseman Nick DeSimone to Vegas in a three-team trade that also involved the Chicago Blackhawks. The Sharks received a fifth-round draft pick from Vegas.

San Jose made two more minor deals, acquiring collegiate goalie Magnus Chrona from Tampa Bay for defenseman Fredrik Claesson, and forward Alexander Barabanov from Toronto for forward Antti Suomela.

GETTING DEFENSIVE

Thought to perhaps be sellers at the deadline, Anaheim instead acquired defenseman Haydn Fleury from Carolina for defenseman Jani Hakanpaa and a sixth-round draft pick.

The Ducks also traded defenseman Ben Hutton to Toronto for a fifth-round pick.

UP NEXT

The Sharks host the Ducks in a rematch Wednesday, the final game between the teams this season.

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