LAS VEGAS — After a hard-fought, low-scoring Game 1 against the Vegas Golden Knights, with very little open ice and only three total goals, the Anaheim Ducks had to be thinking to themselves, “I’ve a feeling we’re not in Edmonton anymore.”
Coming off a high-flying first-round series with the Edmonton Oilers, in which they averaged 4.33 goals per game, the Ducks’ high-octane attack was held mostly in check in the Golden Knights’ 3-1 series-opening victory on Monday night.
The Ducks tied the game 1-1 with just over six minutes to go in the third period on a goal by Mikael Granlund. Jackson LaCombe drove the net and shot it off Vegas goalie Carter Hart’s pad, and it bounced straight to Granlund, who buried the shot into the wide-open net.
It didn’t take the Golden Knights long to answer, though. Ivan Barbashev scored 1 minute, 5 seconds, later with a goal right in front on a feed by Pavel Dorofeyev. It appeared the Ducks were expecting an icing call just seconds before the goal. LaCombe and Jack Eichel were racing for the puck, and the officials opted not to call icing, and Vegas scored moments later.
Mitch Marner added a late empty-net goal.
Both netminders were sharp early on, stopping a combined total of 17 shots in the first period. Anaheim found its game quickly, controlling possession and territory in the opening frame, but couldn’t beat Hart to take advantage of it.
The Golden Knights opened the scoring early in the second period, when Marner threaded a puck through the Ducks’ defense to Brett Howden, who tapped it into the wide-open net. It was Howden’s team-leading fifth goal of the playoffs.
Anaheim controlled the neutral zone more often than not, and won the territorial advantage as a result. Despite spending all of that time in the attacking zone, the Ducks weren’t able to get many passes through Vegas’ zone defense. The majority of their shots came from distance, and second-chance opportunities were hard to come by.
Hart finished the game with 33 saves on 34 shots, his best performance of the postseason. The Ducks played a solid opening game on the road, but will need to be more opportunistic moving forward to upset Vegas.
LaCombe’s fateful pass
The Ducks created their share of scoring chances. They shot the puck often and tested Hart, forcing him to make double-digit saves in the first two periods. One golden chance they’ll regret came in the second period.
With Vegas leading 1-0, Anaheim center Leo Carlsson made a spinning move as he hit the Vegas zone to send a defender flying. After creating space for himself, Carlsson managed to find LaCombe sitting unguarded below the hash marks inside the right circle.
Hart had committed to his right, so LaCombe had an open net to shoot into and tie the game. Instead, the Ducks’ standout defenseman moved the puck back into the slot area for Troy Terry, but by then the Golden Knights recovered and broke up the play.
Staying disciplined
A primary focus for the Ducks entering the playoffs was their discipline and limiting trips to the penalty box. Edmonton had the top-ranked power play during the regular season, so keeping the Oilers from continually operating in five-on-four mode was paramount.
The Oilers did eventually score four power-play goals after a sluggish start against Anaheim’s penalty kill. But the Ducks only gave them 14 situations in their six-game victory.
“The best part about it though was that the whole series we didn’t take many penalties and that was one of the things that we had to do in order to have some success,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said.
They continued to be prudent in Game 1. Forward Jeffrey Viel took a cross-checking penalty midway through the first period, which Anaheim effectively killed off. It was the only Vegas power play until John Carlson was nabbed for hooking Marner midway through the third.
The Ducks killed both penalties. That’s how Quenneville wants his team to play – hard but without infractions.
Vegas’ penalty kill is strong
Seven games into their postseason, the Golden Knights’ penalty kill has still outscored the opposition’s power play. They were 4-for-4 on Monday and made it look easy against a Ducks power play that converted at an incredible 50 percent clip in the first round against Edmonton.
Vegas’ penalty kill didn’t get on the board itself, after scoring short-handed twice against Utah, but it forced the Ducks to spend most of their time with the man advantage chasing the puck back down the ice and trying to enter the zone. When Anaheim did set things up in the offensive zone, the Golden Knights had excellent defensive sticks and closed off any passing lanes to the slot. They’ve now killed 19 of 20 power plays this postseason (95 percent).
Return of ‘Wild Bill’
As William Karlsson lined up for his first faceoff since November, he was attempting to strategize with defenseman Shea Theodore, but the two couldn’t hear each other over the cheers from the crowd for Karlsson’s return.
The 33-year-old center missed most of the regular season with a lower-body injury and made his long-awaited return Monday night. Karlsson made an immediate impact, finding Rasmus Andersson with a long stretch pass to spring him on a breakaway on his first shift of the game. Lukas Dostal gloved Andersson’s shot to deny Karlsson of the assist, but it shows the impact he can make on this team despite coming off the longest absence of his career.
Karlsson was noticeable throughout the game, including a dangerous look in the second period from the right circle that Dostal just kicked out his right pad in time to save. He was sorely missed by the Golden Knights and should only get better from here.
Ducks need McTavish
Mason McTavish isn’t among the Ducks’ top six forwards and no longer plays center after being in those spots for much of his four seasons. It has been a down season for the 23-year-old forward, but he looked more like his former self in a productive and impactful first round.
McTavish scored his first career playoff goal in a Game 3 win over the Oilers and had assists in each of the final three games. His ice time is down 2 1/2 minutes on average from the regular season, but he made the most of that playing time.
“It’s been better,” said McTavish, citing more confidence. “I think there’s still a lot of room to grow, for sure. I think it was pretty solid. You can always get better.”
McTavish, though, recorded only two shots on goal in Game 1 and did not record a point.
