On Sunday, the Vegas Golden Knights (25-16-14) played the second half of a back-to-back on the road against the Anaheim Ducks (29-23-3). Once again, they fell behind by three goals and faced a 3-1 deficit after the second period. This time, they couldn’t summon any late-game magic and fell 4-3 in regulation.
In the first period, the Golden Knights outshot the Ducks 8-5; however, Anaheim boasted the lion’s share of the scoring chances. The Ducks generated 10 scoring chances while holding Vegas to three, and controlled 73.97% of the expected goal share.
The Ducks got on the board at 13:21 in the first. Ben Hutton couldn’t handle Pavel Mintyukov’s dump-in, and Ryan Poehling got to the loose puck. Poehling drove the net and banked a shot off Chris Kreider’s skate and in.
The Ducks doubled their lead just 1:10 into the second period. Jacob Trouba wristed a shot on net from the point, and Chris Kreier redirected it home for his second of the night.
Three minutes later, Tomáš Hertl took a penalty, and the Ducks added to their lead on the ensuing power play. Cutter Gauthier stepped into the right circle and rocketed a shot that beat Adin Hill short-side.
After successfully killing off a penalty, the Golden Knights woke up. They started attacking in waves and outshot the Ducks 7-5 from that point on. Vegas generated four high-danger scoring chances while holding Anaheim to one.
The Golden Knights finally solved Lukáš Dostál at 9:47 in the second. From behind the net, Mark Stone tried to thread a pass through four defenders to Mitch Marner. Stone’s attempt hit off Ian Moore and Lukáš Dostál, but the puck ricocheted to Marner anyway, who slammed it into the empty net.
In the third period, it looked like the Golden Knights would pull off yet another miraculous comeback. They outshot the Ducks 18-7 and generated eight high-danger scoring chances while not allowing any.
The Golden Knights cut Anaheim’s lead to one at 10:40 in the third. In on the forecheck, Jack Eichel stripped the puck from Jackson LaCombe and threaded a pass through to Ivan Barbashev in front of the net. Lukáš Dostál stopped the shot, but couldn’t squeeze it, and Barbashev got to the loose puck.
However, despite their best efforts, the Golden Knights couldn’t find the equalizer. They pulled Adin Hill for the extra attacker with 1:54 remaining in regulation, but couldn’t score.
The Ducks hit the empty net with 1:07 remaining in regulation. Pavel Dorofeyev’s shot went wide, and Jacob Trouba nudged the puck away from Jack Eichel and to Troy Terry, who set up Ryan Poehling for the dagger.
The Golden Knights again pulled Hill for the extra attacker and made it a one-goal game with just over five seconds remaining in regulation. Mark Stone found Tomáš Hertl all alone atop the goal crease, and Hertl roofed it.
Down by one, the Golden Knights won the face-off, but didn’t get a shot off in time, and the Ducks held on for a 4-3 win.
1. Are the tides turning in the Pacific Division?
For the most part, the Golden Knights have historically had their way with the Ducks. They’ve gone a perfect 4-0 in the season series twice. And in 2020-21, Vegas went 7-1 against the Ducks, outscoring them 29-13.
Yeah, the Golden Knights are used to having their way with the Ducks. But that’s not happening anymore.
For the first time, the Ducks flipped the script and swept the season series against the Golden Knights. Two of those wins came in overtime, but that shouldn’t soften the blow.
The Golden Knights are supposed to be the big baddie. At the start of the season, they were seen as shoo-ins to hang another ‘Pacific Division Champion’ banner. More importantly, they looked like one of the few teams strong enough to truly contend for the Stanley Cup.
But is that still the case? For a long time, it looked like they were going to win the Pacific Division whether they wanted to or not. Now, that’s far from a guarantee.
After today’s regulation loss, the Golden Knights are tied with the Edmonton Oilers for first in the Pacific Division. They have a game in hand, but with a 25-16-14 record, that means very little.
Because the Pacific Division is so weak, the Golden Knights probably aren’t in any real danger of missing the playoffs… but they shouldn’t tempt fate too hard. They might not like the results.
2. Eichel and Marner were men possessed… but it wasn’t enough
Last night, the Golden Knights lost 3-2 to the Seattle Kraken. However, from the second period on, Jack Eichel was by far the best player on the ice.
Eichel’s efforts carried over to tonight’s game against the Ducks. He finished with four shots and 20:36 TOI. He recorded one assist, but it really should have been more. Eichel made plays all night and was, for the most part, the most dangerous player on the ice.
But we can’t forget about Mitch Marner. Marner, reunited with Mark Stone and Pavel Dorofeyev, scored a goal and recorded four shots on net. And, yes, his goal was a neatly-wrapped gift from the hockey gods. But that puck luck doesn’t take away from Marner’s game.
So, Marner and Eichel were excellent. And yet, the Golden Knights lost 4-3 in regulation to a divisional opponent.
Sure, they faced a talented goaltender– Lukáš Dostál was pretty spectacular. The Czech netminder allowed three goals on 31 shots and posted a .903 save percentage. He was great, and those stats would have been even better had Tomáš Hertl not scored in garbage time.
But that’s the real issue. The Golden Knights keep falling behind and praying for late-game heroics from their star players. It’ll work sometimes, because Eichel and Marner are world-class players. But some offensive desperation before a three-goal deficit would probably help.
3. Goaltending isn’t the issue, but it was an issue
Because he’s the easiest player to blame, the goaltender often absorbs most of the ire from the fans. I usually disagree with that way of thinking because, for the most part, a goaltender is only as good as the team in front of him.
Adin Hill was not the reason the Golden Knights lost tonight. The first goal happened because Chris Kreider planted himself in front of the net. The second goal looked rough, but Trouba’s shot was going off target before Kreider got his stick on it. Hill made his fair share of big stops, especially in the third period.
Tonight was just Hill’s sixth start since returning from an injury, and he’s still working his way back. However, sometimes it comes down to one save– especially when facing a goalie as good as Lukáš Dostál.
The third goal, a power-play tally that ultimately proved the dagger, was the real issue.
“In hindsight, that’s the one that hurt us,” said Bruce Cassidy postgame. “It should have never went in the net. It’s a short side goal that, you know, our kill is designed to help with. The D block the far side, and that’s the save that we needed, at the end of the day.”
