The Vegas Golden Knights entered Sunday’s Game 4 with a chance to go up 3-1 in their Second Round series against the Anaheim Ducks. Instead, they fell 4-3 in a coin-flip game and will return to Las Vegas with the series tied 2-2.
If you asked a magic eight-ball about the start of the game for the Golden Knights, it would respond: outlook not so good. Despite a shaky performance in Game 3 from Lukáš Dostál that resulted in an early goaltender change, it took the Golden Knights nearly seven minutes to record their first shot.
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The Ducks broke the ice on the power play at 8:43 in the first. Alex Killorn found Beckett Sennecke above the right circle, and the Calder finalist blasted a one-timer past Carter Hart far-side.
The Golden Knights responded on the power play at 10:22 in the first. Lukáš Dostál couldn’t secure the puck after Mitch Marner got a piece of Jack Eichel’s shot, and Pavel Dorofeyev was out in front to collect the change.
The Ducks regained the lead at 15:25 in the first. Jeffrey Viel made a play along the boards to find Mikael Granlund cutting towards the center of the ice. Cole Smith lunged to try to knock Granlund’s shot away, but the puck took an odd bounce and fluttered through Carter Hart.
The Golden Knights found the equalizer just 4:04 into the second. Mitch Marner dumped the puck in, and William Karlsson got to it behind the net. Karlsson backhanded a centering pass past Jackson LaCombe, and Brett Howden chipped a shot past Lukáš Dostál with Tim Washe draped all over him.
For the rest of the second, the Ducks generated the lion’s share of chances and outshot the Golden Knights 9-7. Cole Smith took a penalty at the end of the period, and Anaheim cashed in on the ensuing power play to retake the lead.
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Beckett Sennecke spun away from Brett Howden, entered the zone, and threaded a cross-ice pass to Alex Killorn at the point. Cutter Gauthier couldn’t handle Killorn’s pass, but he chipped a return feed to the 36-year-old. Unmarked, Killorn pressed deeper into the zone, swung towards the net, and banked a shot in.
“I think we needed to get out of the second period tied 2-2. That gave them some life,” said Golden Knights head coach John Tortorella postgame. “They scored their fourth goal, and they’re just filling the neutral zone, just stacking it. I thought that was the most important part of the game.”
At the start of the third, the Golden Knights looked like they were shot out of a cannon. They recorded the first three shots of the period and swarmed in waves. But despite the Golden Knights tilting the ice, Anaheim got the ever-important next goal.
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The Ducks doubled their lead just 3:43 into the third. Cutter Gauthier found Ian Moore at the point, and the defenseman fired a wrister through traffic that found its way home.
Down by two, the Golden Knights took risks defensively to produce offense. For every look they generated, they gave one to Anaheim as well; both teams generated five scoring chances.
The Golden Knights pulled Carter Hart for the extra attacker with just under three minutes remaining, and it eventually paid off. The Golden Knights entered the zone, and Mitch Marner threaded a cross-ice pass to find Tomáš Hertl back-door.
Now down by just one with over a minute remaining in regulation, the Golden Knights again pulled Hart for the extra attacker. They managed just one shot on goal, and iced the puck with 11 seconds remaining to effectively end the game. Jack Eichel lost the ensuing defensive zone draw, and the Golden Knights fell 4-3.
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