The Vegas Golden Knights were on the losing end of a 4-3 contest against the Anaheim Ducks when the two clubs met for Game 4 of their second-round series Sunday night at Honda Center.
Anaheim took a two-goal lead early in the third period, and though Vegas scored to pull within one late in the third, the Golden Knights were unable to reset the score.
With both teams tied at 2-2, the series now shifts to a best-of-three, with Game 5 set for Tuesday in Las Vegas.
The Golden Knights were without captain Mark Stone, who left Game 3 late in the first period after suffering an apparent lower-body injury. Head coach John Tortorella has not provided an update on Stone, so the extent of his injury remains unknown. Brandon Saad made his 2026 postseason debut as his replacement.
The Ducks opened the scoring 8:43 into the first period. Carter Hart made the initial stop on Cutter Gauthier but was unable to turn aside Beckett Sennecke’s follow-up. It was Anaheim’s first power-play goal of the series (as well as the first Vegas had allowed during the postseason), and it gave the home team the early lead.
But less than two minutes later, the Vegas power play answered courtesy of Pavel Dorofeyev. Jack Eichel elected to shoot, and Dorofeyev was there to clean up the rebound on the doorstep to make it a 1-1 game at 10:22.
With 4:35 remaining in the opening frame, the Ducks beat Hart on a changeup after Cole Smith attempted to lift a stick. The play, which followed a failed clear by Vegas, allowed Anaheim to restore its one-goal lead going into the first intermission.
But Vegas evened things up at 2-2 just 4:04 into the second period.
Howden’s seventh of the playoffs (which is tied for the league lead with Matt Boldy and Logan Stankoven) was a full-line goal, with Mitch Marner picking up his second assist of the game and William Karlsson making an incredible pass from behind the net to set up the play.
However, the back-and-forth action continued, as the Ducks potted their second power-play goal of the night with 2:02 left in the period. Alex Killorn took advantage of a bounce off the ref, drove to the net and got the puck behind Hart to put the Ducks ahead once again.
This was a critical goal, even if it didn’t prove to be the game-winner. But it gave the Ducks some life and some more confidence, which Anaheim converted into a strong push to start the third period.
The Ducks’ cycle went to work and went low-to-high to find Ian Moore at the blue line. Moore’s shot went through traffic and straight into the cage at 3:43 to extend the home team’s lead to 4-2.
This felt like a back-breaker, though the Golden Knights still had 16:17 with which to work.
Vegas got a late power play but was unable to cash in. However, with Hart pulled, the Golden Knights scored at 6-on-5. Marner’s shot ended up getting blocked, which sent the puck right to Tomas Hertl. After eons of horrific puck luck, Hertl finally broke through to make it a one-goal game. It was his first goal of the postseason and his first goal in more than two months.
But the Golden Knights were unable to net the equalizer, losing 4-3.
The Golden Knights were out of sync for much of the night and didn’t seem to find another gear until late in the third period. They still managed to make it a game with the 6-on-5 goal, but the Ducks played with more urgency.
“[The Ducks] came out desperate,” Brayden McNabb said. “I thought we played a decent game. We had some looks and we didn’t cash in, so we’ll move on.”
It was a more physical and contested playoff battle, and the home team had to win this game. For the Golden Knights, taking a 3-1 lead in the series with a chance to close it out on home ice would have been nice, but it wasn’t crucial.
The Ducks found a way to make it work on the power play, and that changed the game.
Anaheim went 2-for-4 after going a combined 0-for-11 in the first three games. The Ducks never trailed, took advantage of Vegas’ self-inflicted mistakes and made the plays they needed to make.
Vegas’ penalty kill’s impressive streak came to an end, but that doesn’t mean the penalty kill is at fault.
“I just felt that when we did take the penalties, we had some momentum,” Tortorella said. “Then we take a penalty, and they scored on a couple. We’ve been killing them off, and they scored on a couple. It’s a big part of the game.”
Special teams played a pivotal role, but as McNabb said, it’s impossible to be perfect every night.
“I think we just gotta be a little more disciplined,” he said.
Colton Sissons said he sees no reason for the Golden Knights to lose any sleep over it.
“It’s been pretty damn good for quite a while here, so sometimes bounces will go that way,” Sissons said. “It shouldn’t shake our confidence as a whole.”
At the same time, the Ducks deserve credit for making the necessary adjustments and being more aggressive with a shoot-first mentality on the man-advantage.
Goaltending wasn’t particularly impressive on either side, though it was Hart’s worst game of the series.
Lukas Dostal got the nod after being pulled in Game 3; he finished the game with 21 saves on 23 shots and the all-important win. Hart yielded four goals on 23 shots for an .826 save percentage after giving up just five total goals in the first three games.
But for Tortorella, the game changed on Anaheim’s goal late in the second period, which made it 3-2.
“I think the biggest part of the game was I think we need to get out of the second period 2-2,” he said. “That gave [Anaheim] some life, and they score their fourth goal and they’re just filling the neutral zone and just stacking it. I thought that was the most important part of the game.”
It certainly turned the tide, and the Ducks capitalized on the momentum early in the third. The Golden Knights needed to match that intensity, but they didn’t.
“Getting down a couple goals is always tough to come back,” Sissons said.
That’s nothing new to the Golden Knights, who struggled with multi-goal deficits all year, but the team’s response was too little, too late.
That being said, there were some bright spots in the loss.
Marner delivered another strong performance, recording three assists and a plus-one rating with two shots in 24:08, which led all forwards. He was second on the team in total ice time, trailing only Shea Theodore (24:50). Marner has seven points in his last two games and has recorded multi-point performances in four of his last five games. He now leads the entire league with 16 points in the postseason.
Also, the fact that Hertl scored his first goal since March 4 could be significant. In reality, the Golden Knights need it to be significant, especially given the absence of Stone.
“Hopefully it just releases him a little bit,” Tortorella said about Hertl’s goal. “He’s been close for quite a while. He bangs one in, so hopefully that’ll help him moving forward.”
Tortorella said that Hertl is even more important now that the lines have shifted due to Stone’s injury.
When discussing the third line, specifically, Tortorella singled out Hertl, referencing his role on the power play and his faceoff ability.
“He’s the one that I think needs to kick in here, and hopefully him scoring a goal is gonna help him,” Tortorella said.
If the captain is out long-term, that would be a massive blow to the Golden Knights. Tortorella has yet to provide an update on Stone’s condition, so it’s difficult to assess how serious the situation is.
“Stoney’s a big part of our team,” Tortorella said. “We miss him, period, as far as his presence and as far as his play.”
Stone’s significance to this team was crystal-clear during the regular season, where Vegas went 31-17-12 (.677) with Stone in the lineup and 8-9-5 (.477) without him. Not having his skill, leadership and energy in the lineup hurts the depth, the power play and the team as a whole. His absence cannot be minimized.
“It’s always tough losing your captain,” Sissons said. “We’re all just gonna have to step up. It’s what good teams do. Obviously, we miss Stoney, but we’ve got a lot of good leaders.”
The Golden Knights do have plenty of leadership, though Stone brings something different to the table. Even so, Vegas has no choice but to pick up the slack.
But that’s what makes Hertl’s goal that much more timely.
Even Hertl at his best is no replacement for Stone, but having him operating even at 50 percent would go a long way towards filling the gap offensively, especially on the power play. It was Hertl who supercharged the Vegas power play last year, and it would do wonders for Vegas’ production and depth if Hertl could become a true scoring threat once more.
But there is one leader on the team who is not being utilized.
Even though Saad hit the crossbar, and even though Karlsson has moved up to play with Marner and Howden, the elephant in the room is Reilly Smith serving as a healthy scratch. Tortorella may not be familiar with the history, but Smith needs to be in the lineup for Game 5.
The fact that Saad played a team-low 7:20 while Keegan Kolesar played just 8:22 demonstrates that Tortorella is not comfortable with either player. That would not be the case with Smith, who is a responsible and experienced player, an asset on both sides of the puck and a valuable leader on and off the ice. There is no reason why Smith should be watching the game from upstairs, particularly given his clutch track record in a Vegas sweater. It’s time for him to return to action.
Regardless of Tortorella’s decisions ahead of Game 5 — which is set for Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN — the Vegas bench boss’ confidence in the team remains steadfast.
“I have zero worry about this team as far as how we’re gonna go about the next few games here, wherever it goes to,” Tortorella said. “I have total trust.”
Photo courtesy of the Golden Knights