NHL playoffs: Ducks defeat Vegas in Game 4 to even

The Ducks’ second-round playoff showdown with the Vegas Golden Knights has change into a best-of-three collection.

With a 4-3 victory Sunday before a raucous sold-out crowd at Honda Center, the Ducks evened the collection 2-2 forward of Game 5 in Las Vegas on Tuesday. But it wasn’t straightforward, with the Golden Knights twice rallying from deficits, only to see the Ducks reply each time.

Success on the facility play was a key issue behind the Ducks’ Game 4 win. So deadly in the group’s first-round win over Edmonton and so ineffective in the first three video games of this collection, the facility play finally clicked, with Beckett Sennecke and Alex eliminateorn scoring on the man-advantage.

“A lot of times you could move the puck around too much, and you kind of look for the perfect opportunity on the power play. For us, it’s just about getting more chances and more shots on net,” eliminateorn said. “Typically on a power play, the more times you shoot it, a lot happens off rebounds or a puck will go in the corner and you can create plays off of that. So it’s not about getting the perfect play.

“I think we just did a better job getting pucks to the nets.”

The Ducks’ other objectives got here from Mikael Granlund and Ian Moore. Pavel Dorofeyev, Brett Howden and Tomas Hertl scored for Vegas.

The Ducks have been fast and bodily early, enjoying with an urgency they lacked in their Game 3 loss. They also did a better job defending the puck and that paid off with the group’s first power-play objective of the collection 8:43 into the first period.

Vegas had killed 11 penalties against the Ducks and 21 in a row courting back to Game 3 of their first-round collection against Utah. But after Dylan Coghlan went off for interference, Sennecke teed up a shot from the top of the proper circle for his fourth objective of the playoffs, placing the Ducks up 1-0.

“I think there was a lot more urgency tonight,” said eliminateorn, who has performed in 150 profession playoff video games, the most of any Ducks participant. “It’s kind of the way the 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. So it’s a huge win.

The lead didn’t last long, however, with Dorofeyev evening things on the power play about a minute and half later. The goal, on a tip-in, was Dorofeyev’s fifth of the postseason.

Granlund put the Ducks back on top less than five minutes before the first intermission, taking a pass from Jeffrey Viel along the boards and getting off a shot as he battled Vegas forward Cole Smith. The puck appeared to strike the blade of Smith’s stick as Viel let it go and that proved fortunate for the Ducks since the deflection fooled defenseman Noah Hanifin and goalie Carter Hart, who both let the bouncing puck tumble through them and into the goal.

That lead didn’t last long, either, with Howden tying things again for Vegas 4:04 into the second. The goal, on the Golden Knights’ ninth shot, was Howden’s seventh of the playoffs, giving him a share of the NHL lead. Mitch Marner assisted on the first two Vegas goals, giving him a league-leading 15 points in 10 postseason games.

eliminateorn, however, scored the Ducks’ second power-play goal less than two minutes before the second intermission, putting the Ducks in front to stay.

“Once you score one, it kind of changes the confidence of a power play,” eliminateorn said. “You’re getting good opportunities, you’re getting good chances [but] it’s not going your way. To see one go in, for us it was kind of a momentum-builder, and it gives you confidence.”

Moore, enjoying for just the second time in the collection, doubled the lead 3:43 into the third period, lining in a slap shot from effectively above the proper circle. That objective proved to be decisive when Hertl scored with 64 seconds to play after Vegas pulled their goalie for an further attacker.

Both groups break up their two video games at home. The Golden Knights could have the home-ice benefit — if there may be one — over the last three video games since two are scheduled in Las Vegas.

Sunday’s win marked the sixth consecutive time the Ducks evened a playoff collection it trailed 2-1 after three video games.

“I think we got momentum,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said. “Things are going good for as long as you keep it, that’s rather better than chasing it. But at the same time, both teams played hard.

“I thought we did a lot of good things.”

Vegas performed without winger Mark Stone, whose 28 objectives have been second-most on the group during the common season. Stone, who had a objective and an help in the first three video games against the Ducks, is the group’s all-time playoff scoring chief with 79 factors (39 objectives, 40 assists) in 94 video games. He sustained an undisclosed injury in the first period of Game 3 and his standing for the remainder of the collection is unclear.

(*4*)