When the Vegas Golden Knights took the ice on Thursday night, they did so with one mission: beat the Anaheim Ducks and advance to the Western Conference Finals. They certainly rose to the occasion– they struck 62 seconds into the first period and never let up en route to a 5-1 victory.
Less than a minute into the first period, William Karlsson sprung Mitch Marner on a breakaway. What followed was one of the most impressive goals in Golden Knights history.
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Marner moved in on Lukáš Dostál, shielding the puck from a pursuing Jackson LaCombe. When Dostál moved to cut off Marner’s angle, the forward pulled up, stopping on a dime. Marner went forehand-backhand-forehand-backhand, and finished the play off forehand, between-the-legs, while skating backward.
“I didn’t really have a good look at it, being behind the play. But from the glimpse I saw, it was just so sick,” said defenseman Shea Theodore postgame. “That’s him, though. [Marner] is so good on his edges, and he’s so good at finding different ways to get things done.”
The Golden Knights doubled their lead at 8:30 in the first. Mitch Marner took the puck up ice, carried it into the zone, and surveyed the ice as Brett Howden drove the net. Marner threaded a pass between Jackson LaCombe and Alex Killorn to set Howden up for a one-timer.
The Golden Knights added to their lead on the power play at 17:19 in the first. Tomáš Hertl won the draw clean back to Shea Theodore, who moved into the high slot and fired a wrister through traffic that found its way home.
Anaheim came out flying to start the second period and recorded five shots in the first four minutes. Eventually, they broke through on the power play.
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The Ducks broke through on the power play at 12:46 in the second. Troy Terry entered the zone with speed, danced between Mitch Marner and Shea Theodore, and fired a cross-ice pass to Mikael Granlund. Granlund picked his spot and ripped a wrister past Carter Hart far-side.
Granlund’s goal rejuvenated a frustrated group, but to no avail. Despite outshooting the Golden Knights 28-12 in the final two periods, the Ducks simply weren’t able to capitalize.
The Golden Knights restored their three-goal lead just 2:52 into the third. John Carlson tried to rim the puck around the boards, but it never made it to Alex Killorn at the half wall. Ivan Barbashev read the play, intercepted the pass, and threaded a backhand through Mikael Granlund to find Pavel Dorofeyev with time and space. Dorofeyev stepped into the slot and beat Lukáš Dostál far-side with a wicked wrister.
The Golden Knights tacked on another at 12:32 in the third. Rasmus Andersson fired the puck deep into the zone, and Lukáš Dostál left his crease to play the puck behind the net. Pavel Dorofeyev got to it first, protected the puck from Jacob Trouba, rolled out to below the right circle, and beat Lukáš Dostál over the shoulder short-side.
The Ducks pulled Lukáš Dostál for the extra attacker with over five minutes remaining in regulation. But a four-goal deficit is a mountain to climb; despite recording eight shots, they couldn’t solve Carter Hart, and the Golden Knights held on for a commanding 5-1 victory.
Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals is scheduled for 5 p.m. PST on Wednesday at Ball Arena.
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