Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Blog: Golden Knights beat Ducks to move into first place in Pacific Division

Golden Knights Ducks

AP Photo/Reed Saxon

Anaheim Ducks defenseman Josh Manson (42) scores a goal on Vegas Golden Knights goalie Maxime Legace (33) and center Cody Eakin (21) in the first period of an NHL hockey game in Anaheim, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2017.

Updated Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2017 | 10:21 p.m.

ANAHEIM – The Golden Knights fought back from a 2-0 deficit, scoring four unanswered goals to beat the Ducks 4-2 and claim sole possession of first place Wednesday night in Anaheim.

James Neal scored with under nine minutes to play to give the Golden Knights their first lead of the game 3-2. Then Reilly Smith hustled to chase down a puck in the corner, threw a laser pass in front of the net, and William Karlsson tapped it past John Gibson to seal the 4-2 win for Vegas.

The Golden Knights outshot the Ducks 49-19 for the highest shots on goal performance in franchise history.

Colin Miller fired a wrist shot from the point and it slipped past Anaheim goalie John Gibson to tie the game 2-2. Erik Haula was battling in front of the Ducks' net, impairing Gibson's view of the puck on the shot.

The game remains tied with 10 minutes to play in regulation.

Golden Knights trail Ducks 2-1 after two periods

The Ducks extended their lead over the Golden Knights to 2-0 when Derek Grant tipped a Hampus Lindholm shot past Maxime Lagace.

The shot came on a power play, only seconds after Brayden McNabb was called for interference on a hit on Anaheim’s Andrew Cogliano.

Jonathan Marchessault finally got the Golden Knights on the board with a power play goal with only 52 seconds left in the period. The goal was set up by a great cross-ice pass by David Perron. Shea Theodore, playing against his former team, also got an assist on the goal.

The Golden Knights have outshot the Ducks 31-12 but Ducks’ goaltender John Gibson has kept Anaheim ahead with multiple impressive glove saves on scoring chances by Vegas.

The Golden Knights trail 2-1 and will start the final period down a man after Erik Haula was called for hooking with only 10 seconds left in the second period.

Golden Knights trail Ducks 1-0 after one period

The Golden Knights dominated Anaheim for most of the first period, but find themselves trailing.

Vegas outshot Anaheim 20-7 in the first 20 minutes, and had multiple scoring chances including a rush where David Perron ripped a shot off the left post.

The Ducks caught the Golden Knights with a counter punch, when defenseman Josh Manson skated through Vegas’ defense and slipped the puck between Maxime Lagace’s pads. Manson missed the puck on a shot attempt near the faceoff spot, but regathered it and scored the goal.

William Karlsson, who has 16 points on the season, had a chance late in the period when he caught a pass in close to the goal and shot it to the top, right corner, but Anaheim goaltender John Gibson was too quick and caught it in his glove.

William Carrier and Anaheim’s Mike Liambas dropped gloves and threw punches early in the period. Liambas was bleeding after the brawl, and both went into the locker room and didn’t return to the ice.

Pre game

The Golden Knights are in Anaheim tonight with a chance at first place on the line.

With a win over the Ducks, and a loss by the Kings who are hosting the Jets, Vegas would take first place in the Pacific Division 20 games into the season.

Anaheim is far from full strength, especially at the center position. Ryan Getzlaf is expected to miss two months after having surgery to replace a fractured cheekbone, and Ryan Kesler is out after surgery as well.

“They have some key guys hurt obviously, but watching their games they compete real hard and have one of the best blue lines in the league,” Gallant said. “They move the puck and their real mobile and their goaltender has been excellent.”

John Gibson went through a rough stretch in goal for the Ducks but has won two straight and has an impressive 2.78 goals against average and .924 save percentage.

“They play a real good, hard game and I may sound like broken record but we have to play our game which is a fast paced,” Gallant said.

Maxime Lagace (4-5-1, 3.67 goals against average) will start in net for the Golden Knights, giving Malcolm Subban another few days of practice since returning from the injured reserve.

Prediction : Ducks 3, Golden Knights 2 in overtime

Season record for predictions: 11-7

Puck drops: 7:30 p.m.

Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas

Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM

TV: AT&T SportsNet (DirecTV 684, Cox 1313, CenturyLink Prism 1760, Dish Network 5414)

Betting line: Golden Knights plus-135, Total 6 minus-120 to the under

Golden Knights (13-6-1) (4-5-1 away)

Coach: Gerard Gallant

Goal leader: James Neal (10)

Assist leader: David Perron (11)

Expected goalie: Maxime Lagace (4-5-1, 3.67 goals against average)

Anaheim Ducks (10-7-3) (6-5-2 home)

Coach: Randy Carlyle

Goal leader: Rickard Rakell (8)

Assist leader: Corey Perry (12)

Expected goalie: John Gibson (7-6-1, 2.78 goals against average)

Golden Knights game day roster

Forwards (12): Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, William Carrier, Cody Eakin, Erik Haula, William Karlsson, Brendan Leipsic, Oscar Lindberg, Jonathan Marchessault, James Neal, David Perron, Reilly Smith and Alex Tuch.

Defensemen (6): Deryk Engelland, Brad Hunt, Brayden McNabb, Colin Miller, Nate Schmidt and Shea Theodore.

Goalies (2): Maxime Lagace and Malcolm Subban

\

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy