Ducks vs. Golden Knights Game 4: Key takeaways as Anaheim never trails, evens series

AtlanticBruinsCanadiensLightningMaple LeafsPanthersRed WingsSabresSenatorsMetropolitanBlue JacketsCapitalsDevilsFlyersHurricanesIslandersPenguinsRangersCentralAvalancheBlackhawksBluesJetsMammothPredatorsStarsWildPacificCanucksDucksFlamesGolden KnightsKingsKrakenOilersSharksScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsFantasyNHL OddsNHL PicksPlayoff bracketNHL Draft rankingRed Light NewsletterStanley Cup The Ducks' power play came through in Game 4. Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images Share article3ANAHEIM, Calif. — In Game 4, the Anaheim Ducks showed they’re not ready to have their fun return to the postseason end quietly. Four different goal-scorers powered the Ducks and they never trailed in a 4-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights at Honda Center on Sunday, which evened the second-round series 2-2. Game 5 is Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Ducks got the first goal for only the third time in their 10 games in this postseason. Beckett Sennecke, a Calder Trophy finalist after a 23-goal, 60-point rookie season, gave them the lead at 8:43 of the first. Pavel Dorofeyev answered Sennecke’s power-play tally with one of his own on a rebound finish for a 1-1 tie less than two minutes later. Anaheim took the lead back late in the first as Mikael Granlund converted Jeffrey Viel’s setup pass when his shot was deflected by Vegas forward Cole Smith, but the resulting change-up appeared to fool Golden Knights goalie Carter Hart. The Golden Knights forged another tie four minutes into the second period when William Karlsson took a hit to make a great pass to Brett Howden, who scored his team-leading seventh goal, which tied Minnesota’s Matt Boldy and Carolina’s Logan Stankoven for the overall playoff lead. From there, the Ducks took charge. Alex Killorn scored Anaheim’s second power-play goal late in the middle period for a 3-2 lead. After a successful Anaheim penalty kill to open the third, Ian Moore pushed the advantage to 4-2 with a successful shot from the point that found a hole between Hart’s blocker and right pad. Tomas Hertl scored a late goal for Vegas. After a relatively calm first three games, the animosity on the ice was clearly elevated on Sunday night. It’s no surprise, given everything on the line, but there were noticeably more post-whistle scrums and hijinks in this one. Vegas’ Dylan Coghlan and Anaheim’s Ross Johnston were each called for interference in the first period for playing the body away from the play. Bruising Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb went to the box for cross-checking Cutter Gauthier head-first into the boards behind the net, and Sennecke was called for cross-checking Nic Dowd just as the second period expired. It’s the first playoff series between these sides, so it took some time for the temperature to heat up, but it clearly has, and it sets up a fascinating best-of-three series from this point on. —Jesse Granger The Golden Knights didn’t back off from their physical play, which was particularly noticeable and effective in their Game 3 victory. This time, the Ducks made them pay for their misdeeds. Vegas brought an air-tight penalty kill into Game 4, as it had erased 26 of 27 short-handed situations, including all 11 of Anaheim’s power plays in this series. The Ducks broke through with a power-play goal in each of the first two periods, taking advantage of an interference penalty by Dylan Coghlan and a slashing minor by Cole Smith. It was the so-called second unit that did the damage. Sennecke scored for the third straight game as he beat Hart after the Ducks generated multiple opportunities on their first advantage. Killorn then took the puck to the net in the second and flipped a puck through Hart. —Eric Stephens The insertion of Mason McTavish back into the Anaheim lineup wasn’t the only notable change coach Joel Quenneville made for Game 4. Olen Zellweger made his first appearance in these playoffs and became the 15th different Ducks player to make his playoff debut. Zellweger had a contribution as well, with a secondary assist on Moore’s goal. Quenneville had gone with Tyson Hinds on the left side of his third defense pairing because of his size edge over the 5-foot-10 Zellweger, but with the Ducks only scoring six goals in the first three games and wanting a little more activation from the blue line, the 22-year-old Zellweger’s speed and puck-moving brought that element. The Ducks got their blueliners more involved offensively from the first minute of Game 4. Zellweger played 76 games for Anaheim during the regular season and had seven goals and 15 assists while averaging almost 17 minutes. He was paired with Moore, who was put back on defense after playing his first seven playoff games at right wing. Moore took the spot of Drew Helleson, whom Quenneville said is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. —Stephens With Mark Stone out with a lower-body injury, Vegas coach John Tortorella had to choose between veteran wingers Reilly Smith and Brandon Saad to replace him in the lineup. He went with Saad, who hadn’t seen action since April 11, over Smith, who played all six games in Vegas’ first-round series against Utah. Saad hadn’t played since the regular season, but has 111 games of playoff experience over his nine-year career, including eight games last season with Vegas. He had a relatively quiet night. There were a few times he was noticeable using his speed to get in on the forecheck, but he didn’t record a shot on goal. Vegas’ third line of Saad, Hertl and Keegan Kolesar played the fewest minutes of any trio, and was outshot 4-1 by the Ducks, with the shot coming on Hertl’s late goal. —Granger The Golden Knights top line, centered by Jack Eichel, struggled to generate much of anything on Sunday night. They were without Stone, who was replaced on the left wing by Pavel Dorofeyev, and spent more time defending than attacking. Statistically, Eichel has been fine in this postseason. He’s tied for team lead with Mitch Marner with 13 points, and had two assists in Game 4, but he has only scored once and hasn’t been impactful enough for Vegas at five-on-five. The Golden Knights have survived without Eichel bringing his A-game to this point, mostly because Marner and Howden have been so strong, but for this team to advance, they will eventually need him to be the puck-dominator he’s proven to be in the past. —Granger Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms