LAS VEGAS – The Anaheim Ducks put the Vegas Golden Knights on notice Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena with a dominant 3-1 victory in Game 2 to even the second-round series 1-1 as it shifts to Anaheim.

The scoreline wasn’t indicative of how lopsided the contest was. Vegas netminder Carter Hart was exceptional to keep it as close as he did, as the Ducks’ speedy offensive attack swarmed the Golden Knights from start to finish.

Anaheim’s Lukas Dostal stopped 21 of 22 shots in a stellar effort. In front of him, the Ducks have looked like the faster, more assertive team over the first two games of this series. They’ve been quicker to loose pucks, and stronger along the boards to territorially dominate the games.

After a scoreless first period, Anaheim’s pressure finally broke through midway through the second period, when Beckett Sennecke delivered a 1-0 lead with a one-timer from the doorstep. The Ducks had been pressuring in the Vegas zone for several consecutive shifts when Jeffrey Viel found Sennecke in front from below the goal line.

Leo Carlsson extended Anaheim’s lead to 2-0 early in the third period on a backdoor feed from Troy Terry. Vegas responded with its strongest push to this point in the series over the second half of the final frame, but Anaheim held most of the shots to the outside and Dostal stood strong in net.

Vegas coach John Tortorella was aggressive, pulling Hart for the extra attacker with more than three minutes left, but Jansen Harkins quickly made it 3-0 with an empty-net goal. Mark Stone scored a goal in the closing seconds for Vegas.

“It doesn’t matter,” Dostal said of losing his first chance at a playoff shutout. “It’s still one (win) in the series. I always say it doesn’t matter how you win or what the score is. It’s always the cherry on the top but it doesn’t really matter. We get a ‘W’ and that’s all we focus on.”

The Ducks head back to the Honda Center for Game 3 on Friday having taken home-ice advantage from the Golden Knights, and must feel confident about their game after two impressive performances in Vegas.

Vegas’ penalty kill comes up aces early

The Golden Knights’ penalty kill has been excellent in this postseason, and it was given its toughest test in the opening minutes of Game 2. Vegas committed three penalties in the first six minutes of the contest, including a double-minor for high sticking by Jack Eichel, that resulted in the Ducks playing with the man advantage for more than six straight minutes.

Anaheim failed to score during that marathon power play and created only one real scoring chance. That shot, a shoveled one-timer by Troy Terry in the slot, was stopped by Hart. The Ducks spent the remainder of the power play mostly passing the puck around the perimeter of the zone, and weren’t able to break down Vegas’ kill, even with only three defenders for over a minute.

“Just determination, really,” Stone said. “It was just pure determination by the guys to keep the puck out of the net. It’s been good for us the majority of the postseason, just doing whatever we can to keep the puck out of the net.”

This was a strength-versus-strength battle coming into this series, after the Ducks converted at a 50 percent rate in the first round against Edmonton, and through two games, the Golden Knights’ penalty kill is winning the matchup handedly.

“Outstanding,” Tortorella said of the penalty kill. “It kind of screws us up. We wanted to try to get a good start, and we’re sitting in the box. The penalty kill has been fantastic, and that was a key part of the game. We just couldn’t make it stand.”

McTavish a late out

Speaking of a suddenly inefficient Ducks power play, Mason McTavish was a late scratch. The top-nine forward had an uneven, disappointing season but had a presence on their second unit that had been terrific in the first round.

McTavish had a down year with 17 goals and 41 points after establishing career highs across the board in 2024-25. The 23-year-old still had six goals on the power play, which was one off his personal best set during his rookie season. He has a powerful one-time shot but has seen some of those opportunities from the right circle taken by Cutter Gauthier and Mikael Granlund.

The bigger deal beyond these playoffs is whether McTavish fits into Joel Quenneville’s future while he is coach. He was a healthy scratch a couple times during the regular season and is essentially now a full-time winger as the Ducks have gone with Granlund as their 2C behind Leo Carlsson and with the other two spots held down by Poehling and Tim Washe.

“I don’t think there’s anything missing,” Quenneville said. “Our power play didn’t score (in Game 1) and he was pretty good on our power play in the last series and (it) seems like at this part of the season here, the latter part of this season, he has the puck a lot more and he’s been effective for us in a lot of ways.

“Our centermen that we like in the middle, I think that’s probably where he’s missing the quality ice time or what his normal position is. We just want to get a couple of guys in, but we expect him, at some point, to make it back.”

McTavish is in the first year of a six-year, $7 million average annual value contract that he signed before this season after a challenging contract battle and partial holdout. He had a goal and three assists against Edmonton but played only 9:09 in Game 1.

Goalie duel

Dostal and Hart weren’t at their best for the first round of the playoffs, but they were both good in Game 1, and sensational on Wednesday.

Hart was the only reason the Ducks didn’t race out to a massive lead over the first 40 minutes of action. He darted back and forth across his crease, making lateral save after lateral save as Anaheim fired everything toward the Vegas net.

Dostal didn’t face the same quantity of shots, but the Golden Knights generated a few dangerous looks and he stood tall. On Vegas’ power play in the second period, defenseman Rasmus Andersson unleashed a slap shot through traffic. Dostal fought through the traffic to get his glove on the shot.

“I think it’s great for everybody,” Quenneville said. “Him primarily, and the guys in front of him as well. We all know the importance of the position. It gets magnified in the playoffs, and grows in its importance as you go through it. It’s two solid games. Their goalie has been tough, so I think the goaltending has been outstanding in the two games.”

Dostal’s best, and most consequential, save came midway through the third period on a one-timer by Vegas’ William Karlsson in the slot. It was one of the Golden Knights’ strongest shifts of the game, as Karlsson and Mitch Marner zipped the puck around the Anaheim zone. That resulted in Karlsson’s blast, but Dostal slid across his crease to absorb it without offering a rebound. Anaheim scored to extend its lead to two goals shortly after.

“It’s 1-0, and (Karlsson) has a great chance, and their goalie makes a great save,” Tortorella said. “You look at those types of situations, and (wonder) if we score, does that jump start us a little bit? Give the goalie credit. He made some really good saves in the third period.”

Savvy acquisitions

Viel and Poehling were two acquisitions that Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek made over the past year to diversify his roster. The two no-frills forwards continue to make an impact in this postseason with clutch plays.

On the first Anaheim goal, Jackson LaCombe’s long pass into the Vegas zone forced Knights defenseman Kaedan Korczak to retreat and play the puck back off the side boards. Poehling sealed off the wall and bounced the puck back down below the goal line. Viel got to it and fed a wide-open Sennecke in front.

The scoring play gave Viel his first assist and point in the series after he scored in Games 3 and 4 against the Oilers, both home victories. Poehling also got his first assist and point in the two games after scoring four times in the first round, including the Game 4 winner in overtime and Game 6 clincher.

Depth tweaks for Ducks

The surprise scratch of McTavish wasn’t the only lineup switch Quenneville made for Game 2. Ian Moore also came out of the lineup for the first time as Ross Johnston and Harkins made their debut in these playoffs. The moves had Quenneville seeking more of a physical element against the brawny Knights.

Quenneville changed his fourth line and had Johnston starting out with Harkins and Poehling. The shifting between the lines continued as Viel moved up to the third line with Washe and Beckett Sennecke. Gauthier replaced Sennecke on the second line and started with Granlund and Alex Killorn.

Johnston and Harkins had to recover from injuries late in the season. It was the first game for Johnston since March 10, because he dealt with a lower-body issue. Meanwhile, Harkins hadn’t played since being forced to leave a March 24 game against Vancouver. He needed to undergo hand surgery a week later.

“They’re ready to play,” Quenneville said. “They’re just waiting for the opportunity. (With) Ross, I thought that line all year long, the line that he was on was the most consistent line in every game. He makes an impact on a game physically, but at the same time first shift out there, he’s got Jack Eichel with a puck coming down on a one-on-one. Handled it pretty well. So, that was a good indication that he was ready.”