The set-up: The NHL's first round features 16 teams and eight series. Just two of those eight series ended in 4-0 sweeps, as the expansion Vegas Golden Knights did so against the LA Kings and the San Jose Sharks brushed aside the Anaheim Ducks. One of the two Western Conference semifinal series will feature those two 'sweepers, as the Vegas Golden Knights take on the San Jose Sharks. Vegas allowed just three goals to Los Angeles in its half of the Pacific Division derby, while San Jose manhandled Anaheim, outscoring the Ducks 16-4. The teams opened their series Thursday night, with the Golden Knights playing their first game in nine days, while the Sharks were taking the ice for the first time in eight days. Vegas has experienced a string of firsts in its record-setting expansion season but jitters have not been among them. The bright lights of the postseason have done nothing to slow the Golden Knights, who look to take a 2-0 lead over visiting San Jose on Saturday in their Western Conference semifinal after thrashing the Sharks 7-0 in the series opener. The Golden Knights scored seven goals in the four-game sweep of Los Angeles in the first round but matched the total in the series opener, essentially delivering an early knockout punch by scoring four times in a span of just over seven minutes in the first period. and went on to win, 7-0. After suffering the worst playoff loss in team history on Thursday night n the first game of the Western Conference semifinals, the San Jose Sharks awoke to find that the sun did indeed come up in the morning.

San Jose: Head coach Peter DeBoer cited a "laundry list of issues" in the Game 1 beating, a list that got longer when Sharks forward Evander Kane received a one-game suspension Friday for cross-checking Vegas defenseman Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. "It's the first adversity we've faced in the playoffs. It's on us to respond now," DeBoer said. "You don't get extra points for winning by a touchdown like they did. We have to be better." Kane was San Jose's big-ticket acquisition from Buffalo at the trade deadline and scored three times in the first-round sweep of Anaheim, after netting nine goals in 17 regular-season games. Martin Jones allowed four goals in four games versus the Ducks but was chased 3 1/2 minutes into the second period after surrendering five goals on 13 shots.

Vegas: "We did good things," said Golden Knights forward James Neal, who capped the scoring with a power-play goal. "For us, I think we have to look at them, they're going to be a hungry team, they're going to be a lot better. They'll be putting that one behind them pretty quick and looking to be a better hockey team so we gotta be ready." The early cushion certainly made his job easier, but Marc-Andre Fleury became the 14th goaltender in history, and first in 14 years, to record three shutouts in his team's first five playoff games. Fleury has a staggering .982 save percentage and 0.54 goals-against average in the playoffs. Vegas received goals from seven different players, with its top line of Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith accounted for nine points.

The pick: The Sharks came into this series as arguably the most impressive team in the first round of the playoffs, opening with two wins in Anaheim before rolling up eight goals in Game 3. Yes, Vegas also was off a four-game sweep but each game was decided by just one goal. Can San Jose bounce back? Sure they can but I won't bet that they will. Vegas is now a dominating 32-10-2 at T-Mobile Arena outscoring opponents on average, 3.55-to-2.34 GPG. In Fleury we trust. Make the Golden Knights an 8* play.