The Anaheim Ducks beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-1 in Game 2 in Las Vegas to even their Western Conference semifinal series 1-1, the report says. Mark Stone’s late power-play goal with six seconds remaining broke Lukas Dostal’s shutout bid, but Anaheim held on for the win.
The victory stood out because of Anaheim’s defensive work, a surprise given its regular-season struggles, the report says. The Ducks were described as one of the weaker goal-prevention teams in the regular season and entered the game 29th in goals-against average and 28th in expected goals against per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, per the report.
Coach Joel Quenneville said winning tight, low-scoring games is necessary in the playoffs and credited his team’s puck possession and defensive execution for the result. The report notes the Ducks excelled both at 5-on-5 and on the penalty kill in Game 2, with players scrambling around the crease late to deny multiple Vegas chances.
Goaltender Lukas Dostal made 22 saves on 23 shots and described some of his work as acting like a “soccer goalie” on the scrambles in front of the net, the report says. Forward Leo Carlsson watched from the bench as teammates blocked chances and later said the puck felt like it had to go in at some point. Beckett Sennecke opened the scoring in the second period after Vegas misread defensive assignments, and Carlsson extended the lead in the third off a backhand feed from Troy Terry that marked his fourth goal of the playoffs.
Jansen Harkins added an empty-net goal before Stone’s late power-play strike. Dostal shrugged off the broken shutout, saying the result mattered more than the shutout, per the report. Vegas coach John Tortorella said the Golden Knights must be quicker to pucks and take advantage of chances but expressed confidence the team would regroup, and Game 3 is scheduled for Friday night in Anaheim, the report says.
