Live coverage: Golden Knights end 2021 on high note with victory over Ducks

By Justin Emerson

Published Friday, Dec. 31, 2021 | 2 a.m.

Updated Friday, Dec. 31, 2021 | 2:43 p.m.

The Golden Knights made sure their last game of 2021 was one of their most dominant, and spent 60 minutes Friday afternoon wailing on the Anaheim Ducks at T-Mobile Arena.

Vegas scored twice in the first period and never let up, winning 3-1 in a game where the score didn't accurately describe how badly the Golden Knights outplayed the Ducks. The only area where Anaheim had a statistical edge was in hits, because you can only record a hit when you don't have the puck.

The Golden Knights outshot the Ducks 45-16, and frustrated them to the point of drawing six power plays in the game. Vegas controlled the game from start to finish, and the Ducks didn't score until there were 11 seconds left and the outcome of the game was well beyond doubt.

Nicolas Roy got things going in the first, redirecting home Ben Hutton's point shot at 11:15 of the first. Adam Brooks scored in a similar way near the end of the period, sending home Dylan Coghlan's shot in a goal that no one seemed to notice at the time as it got wrapped up in the netting.

Mattias Janmark scored in the second period to stretch the lead to three goals, which was enough for Vegas on Friday.

The Golden Knights finished the 2021 calendar year with 62 regular-season wins, most in the NHL. Including the postseason, Vegas finished second only to the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning with 72 wins.

Golden Knights extend lead over Ducks in chippy second period

The Golden Knights extended their lead in the second period, then things started to get a little testy. There were two fights and a whole bunch of penalties in the middle frame, but it ended with a 3-0 Golden Knights advantage over the Anaheim Ducks at T-Mobile Arena on Friday afternoon.

A major turning point in the game came at the 4:25 mark of the second period, on a Ducks play in the Vegas zone. Simon Benoit made a nifty play to slide the puck over to Buddy Robinson, but Vegas goalie Laurent Brossoit was quick to read the pass and square his body to the puck, making a tough save look much easier than it was.

On the next play, Vegas stormed down the ice and scored on a bit of a weird play. Mattias Janmark crashed the net and set Keegan Kolesar up on the doorstep, but John Gibson turned him away. In doing so, Gibson lost his footing and fell backward into the net, leaving him prone to Janmark taking the rebound and firing it past the goalie seated on his rear in the net.

Instead of the Ducks trimming the lead to 2-1, Brossoit and Janmark ensured the Golden Knights' lead reached 3-0 as Vegas continued to have its way with the visitors.

It stayed that way the rest of the period, as the Golden Knights continued to fluster the Ducks. They drew two more power plays in the second, and when Ryan Getzlaf exited the box after a roughing minor, he and Kolesar almost immediately dropped the gloves in what was a teaser for the near-line brawl that happened next.

It started with a Derek Grant cross-check on the ensuing faceoff, which Vegas took exception to. Grant got two minutes and five more for fighting, teammate Sam Carrick got four for roughing, Nicolas Deslaurier got a 10-minute misconduct and Vegas' Brayden McNabb got five for fighting and Michael Amadio got two for roughing.

That's a total of 30 penalty minutes on one play, and a Vegas power play on the other side of it. Janmark even had a penalty shot later in the period, but it was turned away.

Shots were lopsided, much like the first period, and Vegas led 35-10.

Golden Knights lead Ducks after first period

The Golden Knights and Anaheim Ducks have a played a pair of high-scoring games this season already, so it was fitting that a couple of goals found the net in the first period. They were just both from the same team.

Vegas scored twice in the opening 20 minutes, and took a 2-0 lead over the Anaheim Ducks into the first intermission at T-Mobile Arena on Friday in the final game of 2021.

Nicolas Roy had two chances to score on the same shift, and made sure to bury the second one. Keegan Kolesar and William Carrier had a pair of nice passing plays to set Roy at the back-door, but he couldn't finish the tap-in. When Ben Hutton sent one on net from distance, Roy deflected the shot and netted his career-best seventh of the season at 11:15 to open the scoring.

The Golden Knights had a power play in the later stages in the period and though they didn't score, moved the puck well and held the zone for almost the entire two minutes.

Vegas did get another goal, though no one on the ice knew it right away. Adam Brooks deflected Dylan Coghlan's shot into the net, but the puck wrapped around the netting on the deep bar of the net, and nobody immediately noticed. They looked around for the puck and once they found it, started a celebrating a 2-0 lead at 18:25.

The Golden Knights owned the puck in the first period, and didn't allow the Ducks a shot on goal until eight minutes in, and even that was a long-range outlet pass from the Anaheim zone that missed its target but hit the net. The Ducks' first real shot came at 8:39, a good look from the circle that Laurent Brossoit gobbled up.

Vegas finished with a 16-4 lead in shots on goal in a one-sided first period.

Golden Knights welcome noontime New Year’s Eve clash with Ducks

It’s become a New Year’s Eve tradition in Las Vegas — watch the Golden Knights play in the afternoon, then get off the Strip before the holiday festivities begin.

For the third time in four seasons (last season started after New Year’s Eve), Vegas will host a matinée at T-Mobile Arena, this time at noon against the Anaheim Ducks.

The Golden Knights have never lost in their New Year’s spot but will get quite the challenge from the ascendant Ducks in a game that will have Pacific Division playoff implications.

“I do like just getting up and pretty much playing,” said forward William Karlsson, who had a hat trick on New Year’s Eve 2017. “And the beauty of an early game is that you have a long time before you have to go to bed again. It’s usually a very good day.”

The Ducks made the playoffs in 2017-18 but have spent the last three years near in the bottom of the Pacific. Buoyed by young players taking the next steps in their development and always-strong goaltending, Anaheim is looking like a playoff team again and will overtake the Golden Knights for first place with a regulation win today.

After three poor seasons in Anaheim, an early-season, eight-game winning streak was eyed with skepticism, especially as many of their points came from overtime or shootout losses — the Ducks have more wins (17) this season than all-situation losses (16).

But even getting to overtime is part of getting to the postseason in today’s NHL. The Ducks have six wins in their last 11 games but have at least a point in all but one of them.

“Everybody’s asking about Anaheim and obviously we dig in deep and we look at them with our pre-scouts and they’re for real,” said Steve Spott, who is acting head coach while Pete DeBoer is in COVID-19 protocol. “They do have a real good blend of veteran savvy, young talent, and obviously (goalies) John Gibson and Anthony Stolarz have been outstanding. It’s going to be another difficult contest (today) at noon.”

The Golden Knights have played the Ducks twice this year, losing 6-5 in regulation in Anaheim and winning 5-4 in a shootout in Vegas.

“They have fast, skilled forwards, young guys who are really skilled,” forward Nicolas Roy. “I think we’ve got to try to keep our defensive game a little bit more and play more our game. But of course two really good teams going at it.”

The Golden Knights will get some reinforcements, as both Alex Pietrangelo and Evgenii Dadonov have been removed from league virus protocols after missing two games each and are expected to play today.

It’s also possible Vegas sees the return of Nolan Patrick, who practiced Thursday with the power-play units, a strong indicator of a player’s availability. Patrick was injured after the fourth game of the season and has not played since Oct. 22. He has one goal this season.

The bad news is the Golden Knights will be without a few of their top players.

Forward Max Pacioretty underwent wrist surgery Thursday and is out indefinitely. Mark Stone and Robin Lehner, neither of whom has practiced with the team since before the holiday break, are not expected to play either.

The Golden Knights have played the Ducks 22 times in the regular season, one behind the Kings for the most common opponent in team history. They have 18 wins against Anaheim, the most against any opponent.

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Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM

Betting line: Golden Knights minus-185, Ducks plus-165; over/under: 6 (minus-105, minus-115)

Golden Knights (21-12-0, 42 points; 1st place, Pacific Division)

Coach: Pete DeBoer (third season)

Points leaders: Chandler Stephenson (33)

Goals leader: Jonathan Marchessault (16)

Assists leader: Chandler Stephenson (23)

Expected goalie: Laurent Brossoit (2.75 GAA, .903 save percentage)

Ducks (17-9-7, 41 points; 2nd place, Pacific Division)

Coach: Dallas Eakins (3rd season)

Points leader: Troy Terry (30)

Goals leader: Troy Terry (18)

Assists leader: Ryan Getzlaf (20)

Expected goalie: John Gibson (2.68 GAA, .914 save percentage)

Golden Knights projected lineup

Forwards

Mattias Janmark—Chandler Stephenson—Evgenii Dadonov

Jonathan Marchessault—William Karlsson—Reilly Smith

William Carrier—Nicolas Roy—Keegan Kolesar

Adam Brooks—Nolan Patrick—Michael Amadio

Defensemen

Nicolas Hague—Alex Pietrangelo

Brayden McNabb—Shea Theodore

Ben Hutton—Zach Whitecloud

Goalies

Laurent Brossoit, Logan Thompson