Alex Killorn and rookie Beckett Sennecke had a power-play goal and an assist apiece, and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 in Game 4 on Sunday night to even their second-round series at two games apiece.<\/p>\n
Ian Moore got his first career playoff goal, Cutter Gauthier contributed three assists and Mikael Granlund also scored for the upstart Ducks, who responded to their 6-2 blowout loss in Game 3 with another mature two-way performance in their first playoff run since 2018.<\/p>\n
“It’s a great rebound, a good, resilient game,” Killorn said. “I think there was a lot more urgency tonight. That’s kind of the way playoffs go. You don’t ever want to lose two in a row at home. You don’t want to go down 3-1 in a series. We made some adjustments. That’s just what playoffs is. They had a great game last time. We had a good game tonight, and we expect it to be a really good series going forward.”<\/p>\n
Lukas Dostal made 18 saves in a strong bounce-back effort after getting pulled from Game 3 for allowing three goals in his latest shaky first period, and his teammates provided more than enough offense in their highest-scoring performance of the series. The Ducks are tied for the overall Stanley Cup playoff lead with 36 goals and 10 power-play scores.<\/p>\n
“I thought we worked hard and did a lot of good things,” Anaheim coach Joel Quenneville said. “A little dangerous at the end again, but certainly a lot of positives.”<\/p>\n
Game 5 is Tuesday night in Las Vegas, with Game 6 back in Anaheim on Thursday night.<\/p>\n
Pavel Dorofeyev and Brett Howden scored for the Golden Knights, whose three-game road winning streak ended.<\/p>\n
Carter Hart stopped 19 shots despite some shaky moments, while Mitch Marner had three assists in Game 4 following his hat trick in Game 3, giving him an NHL-leading and career-best 16 points in the postseason.<\/p>\n
Anaheim’s two power-play goals ended the unit’s 0-for-11 skid and finally dented a Vegas penalty kill that allowed just one power-play goal in its first nine postseason games. Killorn got the tiebreaking power-play goal late in the second period when he drove the net and his shot trickled through Hart.<\/p>\n
“I’m not going to dissect the PK,” Vegas coach John Tortorella said. “I think the biggest part of the game was we needed to get out of the second period (tied) 2-2. That gave them some life, and they scored their fourth goal and they’re just filling the neutral zone, just stacking. I think that was the most important part of the game.”<\/p>\n
Moore added to the Ducks’ early in the third, recording his first career playoff point. Tomas Hertl ended his personal 29-game goal drought when he scored for Vegas with 1:04 left while Hart was pulled for an extra attacker, but Anaheim held on.<\/p>\n
Sennecke, the Ducks’ 20-year-old Calder Trophy finalist, opened the scoring with just the second power-play goal allowed by the Golden Knights in the entire postseason, ending a streak of 21 straight kills.<\/p>\n
Sennecke scored a goal in his third consecutive game, joining Sidney Crosby (2007) as the only players under 21 with a three-game postseason goal streak in the 21st century.<\/p>\n
Howden tied it with his seventh goal of the postseason early in the second period off a slick setup from former Ducks draft pick William Karlsson.<\/p>\n
Vegas played without captain Mark Stone, who incurred an undisclosed injury in Game 3.<\/p>\n
Anaheim shook up its lineup, inserting puck-moving defenseman Olen Zellweger for his playoff debut and his first game action since April 7 while Moore and forward Mason McTavish also returned after healthy scratches. Quenneville praised all three players’ effort.<\/p>\n