The Vegas Golden Knights delivered another solid defensive effort with a 4-1 win against the Anaheim Ducks Wednesday night at Honda Center, improving to 17-7-3 on the season.
Vegas was in control all night and outshot the Ducks 33-20.
It was a relatively low-event opening frame, but William Karlsson, fresh off being named to the Team Sweden 4 Nations Face-Off roster, scored off the rebound to give Vegas a 1-0 lead late in the frame with his fifth tally of the season.
Shea Theodore, also named to the 4 Nations Face-Off rosters earlier on Wednesday, beat his former team with his first goal in 24 games to double Vegas’ lead to 2-0 at 6:38.
It was another goal scored off a rebound, as Theodore put home the puck after John Gibson made a great save on a 2-on-1 between Jack Eichel and Victor Olofsson. It was Olofsson’s second primary helper of the game.
The second period featured the first power play and first penalty kill for the Golden Knights since Saturday’s loss against Utah. Two seconds following Vegas’ successful kill, however, the Ducks broke through on a point shot by Jackson Lacombe, cutting the deficit to one in the final two minutes of the frame.
But the Golden Knights wasted little time restoring their two-goal lead, as it took just 3:05 for Alexander Holtz to pot his second goal of the year. Tanner Pearson made an excellent play to set up Holtz’s first goal in 20 games.
Theodore then added his second of the game and third of the year with the empty-netter to seal the 4-1 win. It was the Golden Knights’ 38th third-period goal this season, which leads the NHL. He was especially dominant, though Olofsson and Eichel also played very well. But it was another team-wide effort from start to finish.
It was a solid bounceback performance by Ilya Samsonov, who turned aside 19 of 20 shots one game after an ugly outing against Utah. He wasn’t overly tested but made a few key stops when he needed to.
The Golden Knights, who outshot the Ducks in all three periods (12-7, 11-7, 10-6), improved to 3-0-0 against Anaheim this season with their second victory in two nights.
It was a methodical and responsible effort by the Golden Knights, who played well defensively and did more than enough offensively to get the win. Eichel added another two assists to give him 30 helpers on the year, and he was robbed by Gibson on what would have been his first power-play strike of the season.
Tomas Hertl also recorded two assists in the game.
The Golden Knights will square off at home against Dallas on Friday before an extended break keeps them off the ice until a meeting with Winnipeg next Thursday. Mark Stone is expected to make his highly-anticipated return to the lineup in one of those games, which will be a major boost for Vegas.