The Vegas Golden Knights advanced to the Western Conference finals with a 5-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks in Game 6 of the second round, the report says.
Mitch Marner opened the scoring 62 seconds after the opening faceoff and played a role in all three Vegas goals in a 3-0 first period. Brett Howden scored a short-handed goal and Shea Theodore added a power-play tally during the early surge, according to the report.
Pavel Dorofeyev added two third-period goals to seal the win, the report says. The account notes that Dorofeyev has been hot late in the series, producing multiple goals in recent games. Carter Hart made 31 saves as Vegas closed out the upstart Ducks, who were making their first playoff appearance since 2018.
The report says Marner raised his NHL-leading playoff point total to 18 and that Dorofeyev had scored in Game 5 overtime before delivering the late third-period punches in Game 6. Anaheim got a power-play goal from Mikael Granlund in the second period, and Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal stopped 16 shots, per the report.
Vegas will face the Colorado Avalanche next, the report says, noting Colorado won the Presidents’ Trophy and improved to 8-1 in the postseason by ousting Minnesota. The report adds that Anaheim’s young roster could not match the veteran Knights’ playoff poise in three losses over the past four games and that the Ducks’ encouraging first season under coach Joel Quenneville ended with the Game 6 defeat.
The account points out the Knights are 15-4-1 since John Tortorella replaced Bruce Cassidy on March 29, and it provides detail on the scoring: Marner’s early goal came when William Karlsson found him behind the defense, Marner then set up Howden eight minutes later, and Theodore’s blast came five seconds into a power play. The report also notes Vegas played Game 6 without suspended defenseman Brayden McNabb, whose illegal hit in Game 5 injured and sidelined Anaheim forward Ryan Poehling indefinitely.
