Blog: Golden Knights pull away from Ducks late for fifth-straight win

By Jesse Granger

Published Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2017 | 4 p.m.

Updated Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2017 | 9:35 p.m.

ANAHEIM — The Golden Knights entered the third period Wednesday night in Anaheim nursing a 2-1 lead, but the Ducks were still very much in the game.

That lasted a whole 28 seconds, as William Karlsson scored his 17th goal of the season to put the Golden Knights up two goals, and Vegas cruised to another victory over the Ducks.

David Perron added an empty net goal in the waning minutes and Vegas claimed its third straight win against Anaheim, and its fifth straight win overall to claim sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division.

Jonathan Marchessault helped set up Karlsson’s goal, collecting the puck on the side of the net and feeding it to him right in front of Ducks’ goaltender John Gibson. It was Marchessault’s 21st assist of the season. He leads the Golden Knights with 33 points.

Next up for the Golden Knights is a short trip to Los Angeles where they take on the Kings tomorrow night.

Golden Knights lead 2-1 after two periods

Midway through the second period Golden Knights forward Cody Eakin was called for roughing and took a seat in the penalty box, putting his team in a tough spot down a man.

Eakin would quickly atone for the mistake, stepping out of the box, taking a pass from Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and racing down the ice to score a go-ahead goal for Vegas.

It was Eakin’s fifth goal of the season, putting the puck between Ducks goalie John Gibson’s legs to give the Golden Knights a 2-1 lead entering the final period in Anaheim.

Following a rough first period where the Golden Knights were outplayed, Vegas outshot Anaheim 14-7 in the middle stanza, and would have a larger lead if not for a few miraculous saves by Gibson.

The Golden Knights are 13-2-0 this season with a lead entering the third period.

Golden Knights, Ducks tied 1-1 after one period

Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore loaded up and ripped a wrist shot past Ducks goaltender John Gibson, off the iron goal post and into the back of the net.

The shot tied the game 1-1 after one period of play Wednesday night in Anaheim.

Theodore was an instrumental part of the Ducks’ deep playoff run last season, but they lost him to the Golden Knights in June’s expansion draft.

Since being called up after a short stint in the American Hockey League, Theodore has pitched in three goals and eight assists for Vegas.

The Ducks jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead when Rickard Rakell scored 1:40 into the game. It was Rakell’s team-high 11th goal of the season and came on a beauty of an assist from Jakob Silfverberg, who was behind the net when he found Rakell driving in front.

The Ducks dominated play for most of the period, outshooting the Golden Knights 15-8 and creating multiple opportunities late that were stopped by Malcolm Subban.

Pre game

The Golden Knights will try to extend their four-game winning streak tonight in Anaheim, as they take on the Ducks in a Pacific Division matchup.

Vegas has won eight of nine games and has beaten the Ducks in both previous meetings this season, including a 4-2 win at Honda Center on Nov. 22.

Anaheim has struggled to start this season after reaching the Western Conference Finals a year ago. That is largely due to injuries to key players Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler, who have missed most of the season.

Getzlaf returned to the Ducks lineup on Dec. 11 and has a goal and eight assists since then. Kesler is set to make his long-awaited season debut tonight against the Golden Knights after missing the first 37 games recovering from offseason hip surgery.

The added firepower should help the Ducks’ struggling offense, which ranks 28th in the NHL with only 2.7 goals per game. However, Anaheim will now be without 31-year-old winger Corey Perry, who is listed as week-to-week with a lower body injury.

Starting in goal tonight for Vegas will be Malcolm Subban, who has won his last four starts and compiled an impressive 8-2-0 record with a 2.30 goals against average.

Expect better offensive production out of the Ducks with the return of Getlzaf and Kessler, but the Golden Knights should be able to score with them. In the first two meetings Vegas outshot Anaheim a combined 92-48.

It will likely take another herculean effort from Ducks’ goalie John Gibson to keep his team in it tonight.

Prediction : Golden Knights 3, Ducks 2

Season record for predictions: 20-12

Puck drops: 7 p.m.

Where: Honda Center, Anaheim

Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM

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

Betting line: Golden Knights plus-120, Total 5.5 minus-130 to the over

Golden Knights (23-9-2) (8-7-1 home)

Coach: Gerard Gallant

Goal leader: James Neal (17)

Assist leader: David Perron and Jonathan Marchessault (20)

Expected goalie: Malcolm Subban (8-2-0, 2.30 goals against average)

Anaheim Ducks (16-13-8) (8-7-3 home)

Coach: Randy Carlyle

Goal leader: Rickard Rakell (10)

Assist leader: Corey Perry (16)

Expected goalie: John Gibson (11-11-4, 2.77 goals against average)

Golden Knights game day roster

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

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

Goalies (2): Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban