Anaheim revitalized their power play and injected fresh energy into the lineup to withstand Vegas’ physical onslaught, evening the series behind a more creative and aggressive offensive attack.
After the steepest one-sided result through the first three games of the second-round series between the Anaheim Ducks and the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 3, a 6-2 Vegas victory, the Ducks hosted the Knights again on Sunday for Game 4, with the Knights up 2-1 in the series.
The Ducks were looking to avoid a 3-1 series deficit returning to Vegas. They reinserted Mason McTavish into the lineup and on his typical spot on the left wing of Ryan Poehling and Cutter Gauthier.
Defenseman Drew Helleson was ruled out, considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. Ducks head coach elected to inject some mobility to his bottom pair, placing Ian Moore on the blueline for the first time since April 1, next to Olen Zellweger, who made his playoff debut and hadn’t played since April 7.
Vegas captain Mark Stone was ruled out for this game after exiting Game 3 early with an apparent lower-body injury. Brandon Saad replaced him, as Knights head coach John Tortorella was forced to do some surgery to his lineup for Game 4.
Here’s how the Ducks lined up to start this game:
Kreider-Carlsson-Terry
Killorn-Granlund-Sennecke Gauthier-Poehling-McTavish
Johnston-Washe-Viel
LaCombe-Trouba
Mintyukov-Carlson
Zellweger-Moore
Lukas Dostal returned to the Ducks’ cage after he was pulled after the first period in Game 3. In this game, he stopped 18 of 21 shots in this game. Vegas expectedly went back to Carter Hart in their net, and he saved 19 of 23.
Game Notes
The Ducks were more prepared for the start of this game than they were for Game 3. Neither team dictated tempo or gained a significant advantage in volume or quantity of chances, especially at 5v5.
This game brought with it promised emotions and chipiness synonymous with playoff hockey, as liberties were taken, tempers flared, and animosity was apparent. Vegas attempted to physically engage the Ducks’ younger stars (Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Beckett Sennecke) whenever they could.
Though the Ducks pushed back and returned the favor when the situation called for it, the Ducks made the Knights pay where it counted most: the scoreboard. The Ducks’ power play, which had gone 0-11 through the first three games, notched two goals on four attempts and was the difference in this game.
“Both teams played hard. That was a man’s game out there today,” Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville said after the game. “We worked hard. I thought we did a lot of good things. A little dangerous at the end again, but certainly a lot of positives.”
Cycle: While goaltending wasn’t spectacular, and the defensive structure was faulty, perhaps the most significant issue pertaining to Anaheim’s Game 3 was their lack of creativity or variety offensively.
In this game, they threw more looks Vegas’ way. Defensemen were far more involved and active throughout the offensive zone. They attacked downhill while opening, looking for, and finding seams to dangerous areas of the ice. They didn’t just funnel pucks and fight their way to the front of the net; they carried pucks there and made precise cuts away from the puck to render themselves dangerous options.
Ian Moore/Olen Zellweger: Though the Ducks’ bottom pair received very limited ice and very sheltered minutes, they added that needed dynamism from the backend to aid in breaking down Vegas’ extremely solid defensive structure.
Zellweger was involved from the opening puck drop, not dipping his toe into his first playoff action, but diving headfirst. He joined rushes, led rushes, and activated when needed. He was a step late in reading how plays developed in his zone, but recovered nicely with his flawless skating.
Moore is a natural defenseman, and he operates best when he has the entire ice in front of him. He’s just as impactful defensively from the backend, and his poise and paitence led directly to what turned out to be Anaheim’s game-winning goal.
Power Play: The Ducks’ power play broke the seal in this game and notched a pair of goals on four attempts. LaCombe’s unit notched both tallies, with Killorn and Sennecke providing the goals. Both units were more cohesive in this game, determined to get Vegas’ killers to move away from the middle of the ice.
Player movement was a key contributing factor, as was their ability to win ensuing puck battles that followed shots and shot attempts. They were able to create chances off broken plays as Vegas’ killers were forced to spread to the perimeter in attempts to win pucks back, creating open space behind them and through the zone.
Mason McTavish: McTavish, like Moore and Zellweger, didn’t receive ample ice time in this one, and he was the least-played forward in this game. However, his impact was felt on a shift-by-shift basis, as he won a multitude of puck battles, kept plays alive, and created looks from the tight areas of the ice.
McTavish played well enough to find the scoresheet, and if he continues to put forth similar efforts going forward, the Ducks may have found the key depth scoring they’d been needing through the first few games of this second-round series.
This series will now shift back to Vegas, as it’s now a best-of-three between these two Western Conference semifinalist clubs. Game 5 will be at 6:30 PM PST at T-Mobile Arena.