The Vegas Golden Knights lost control of home-ice advantage in the second round after suffering a 3-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks in Game 2 Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena.
The best-of-seven series is now tied at 1-1.
The Ducks delivered a dominant road performance and were the better team, much like they were in Game 1. This time, however, the Golden Knights were unable to steal it.
Anaheim took a 2-0 lead early in the third period and later added an empty-net goal to seal the win. The Golden Knights scored on a late power play, but it was a meaningless goal. It did spoil Lukas Dostal’s shutout, but he finished the game with 22 saves on 23 shots for a .957 save percentage as well as 1.94 goals saved above expected, according to Money Puck.
Once again, the Ducks were all over the Golden Knights early.
A lack of discipline could have put Vegas on its heels, but the penalty came through with an epic performance, killing all four of Anaheim’s power plays to keep things scoreless after one.
It was quite possibly the best period of goaltending the Golden Knights have gotten all year, as Carter Hart turned aside all 15 shots he faced, including when Anaheim had a two-man advantage for 1:37. Hart was sensational, and he was the reason the Golden Knights were able to withstand the Ducks’ early surge that saw them lead 29-10 in shot attempts, 13-4 in shots, 12-4 in scoring chances, 6-2 in high-danger chances and 1.56-0.21 in expected goals (88.21 percent), per Natural Stat Trick.
The Ducks continued to pour on the pressure in the second period, leading 25-14 in shot attempts, 19-5 in scoring chances and 5-2 in high-danger chances. They owned 55.21 percent of the expected goal share, but thanks to another strong showing by Hart, the Golden Knights only trailed by one through 40 minutes. It was an improved period for Vegas, but it didn’t matter on the scoreboard.
That’s because Beckett Sennecke — recently named as one of the three finalists for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year — finally came up with an answer for Hart at 11:23 of the middle frame.
The Golden Knights had to take care of another Anaheim power play to finish out the period, leaving them with a one-goal deficit heading into an important third.
The Golden Knights seemed to tilt the ice in their favor, but the Ducks made a nice play in transition to extend their lead at 6:36. Troy Terry found a wide-open Leo Carlsson, who chipped the puck up and over Hart off the backdoor setup.
It was the second time one of Anaeim’s young stars was left alone in front, with both lapses in coverage leading to Anaheim strikes.
The Golden Knights got a critical man-advantage midway through the third period with a glorious chance to cut the deficit in half. At one point, Dostal was down and out, but the Golden Knights were unable to capitalize, failing to make it a one-goal game.
The Golden Knights pulled Hart with just under four minutes remaining in the third. However, a turnover in the neutral zone led to an empty-net goal for Jansen Harkins, who made his series debut (as did Ross Johnston), earning some trusted minutes at the end of the game.
Despite there being more than three minutes remaining, John Tortorella elected not to pull Hart again. The Golden Knights generated a few looks, and Jackson LaCombe saved a goal on a great chance for Rasmus Andersson. Vegas got a late power play and ultimately broke through to spoil the shutout for Dostal, as Mark Stone scored with six seconds left on the clock.
But the Ducks walked away victorious with the 3-1 win to even up the series.
There’s some reason for concern given how the first two games of the series have gone.
Of course, the series is tied at 1-1, but the games have not been evenly-matched. Anaheim has been much better for all six periods, and the Golden Knights seemed further away from their game in Game 2 than in the series opener.
The Ducks are playing excellent hockey, and Vegas’ lack of execution (or inability to finish) has prevented them from taking advantage of Anaheim mistakes.
Without a doubt, Hart has been the team’s best player. This game could have been over in the first period if not for his lights-out play. He finished the game with 0.5 goals saved above expected, per Money Puck, but he kept the Golden Knights in it until the very end.
Once again, the Vegas penalty kill shined, finishing the game 5-for-5, which doesn’t come close to describing how critical the Vegas penalty kill was in the first period. The Ducks had four power plays, including an extended 5-on-3, but Vegas was outstanding. Vegas’ shorthanded units have now killed off all nine of Anaheim’s power plays through two games after the Ducks had the best power play in the first round with a 50 percent conversion rate.
But Vegas’ special teams have not been consistent, as the power play has yet to find its footing. Though it scored in the waning seconds of regulation, that was too little too late and didn’t have any significance in the game. The Vegas man-advantage has been struggling throughout the postseason, and it continues to be an issue. The Golden Knights had a prime opportunity on the power play in the third period but didn’t look particularly convincing despite the great chance that Mikael Granlund’s shot block shut down.
But if not for Hart and the Vegas penalty kill, these two games could have been blowout wins for the road team. Now that the series is shifting to Anaheim, the Golden Knights are going to have to find another gear. They have been largely outplayed for most of the six periods in this series, and it’s only going to be more difficult in a hostile and rowdy environment at Honda Center.
One player who has not been overly effective is Keegan Kolesar. Perhaps Tortorella will consider bring Reilly Smith back into the fold. William Karlsson played a little more in Game 2 (13:19), but that line got crushed. In fact, they trailed 7-1 in Corsi, 3-1 in shots and managed 25.63 percent of the expected goal share in 3:43.
Tortorella had to switch up the lines, and Karlsson eventually was moved to play with Mitch Marner and Brett Howden. Those numbers were much more favorable, so it’ll be interesting to see what adjustments Tortorella makes to the lines for Game 3, which is set for Friday night.
Vegas is fortunate this series is tied at 1-1.
At some point in the very near future, the Golden Knights are going to have to rediscover their game and assert themselves in this matchup.
Statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick and Money Puck.
Photo courtesy of the Golden Knights