Ducks’ fast start propels them past Golden Knights – Orange County Register

ANAHEIM — Though they welcomed a team from Vegas, the Ducks were in the midst of their own residency, an eight-game homestand, and its first victory came against the defending champion Golden Knights, 5-2, on Wednesday night at Honda Center.

For the title-holders’ part, they will be relieved not to have any more dates scheduled on Katella Avenue this season.

The Ducks, who entered the contest with the NHL’s third-lowest points total, have twice hosted the Golden Knights, twice beaten them and twice scored four goals in a single period, the only two times they’ve poured in four goals in a period thus far this season. On Nov. 5, it was the third period of a game they trailed 2-0 at the second intermission, but on Wednesday the hosts made it rain early.

“First shift, we started in their zone and started strong,” Brett Leason said. “This goalie was kind of shaky so we were just firing pucks and I think everyone was just playing as a team, playing fast and playing smart, and it’s tough to stop that.”

Leason bookended the Ducks’ scoring with two goals for his first career multi-goal game. In between, Jamie Drysdale scored his first goal in nearly 21 months and Frank Vatrano and Troy Terry each netted one. Mason McTavish picked up three assists (all primary) and Cam Fowler had two assists as 11 Ducks recorded at least one point (all in the first period). John Gibson had 30 saves.

Former Kings playoff hero Alec Martinez and team captain Mark Stone each scored for Vegas. Logan Thompson struggled, allowing five goals on 26 bids as the visitors dropped their fourth straight decision.

The Hoover Dam burst open as the Ducks inundated Vegas with four goals in under nine minutes between the 3:23 and 12:18 marks of the match.

First, Fowler’s point shot was deflected downward by Leason. His tip moved between the legs of Max Jones, clear of Vegas defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and past Thompson.

Then, McTavish collected a drop pass, juked one defender and zoomed toward three more. His cross-ice dish found a trailing Drysdale atop the right faceoff circle for a short-side snipe and his first goal since March 31, 2022. Drysdale has only played 13 games in the past two campaigns due to injuries.

“Crazy play by (McTavish). I know he saw me earlier, we locked eyes, but probably what felt like five or six seconds before,” Drysdale said. “Then, he somehow managed to drag everyone to him and then slide it over. I just had a clear lane to the net.”

Next, McTavish recovered Ilya Lyubushkin’s rebound below the goal line and moved the puck decisively to Vatrano in front for a one-timer inside the near post and his team-leading 16th tally.

Finally, a steal by Trevor Zegras keyed a counterattack that culminated in Terry’s five-hole goal from near the right faceoff dot, his ninth goal this season.

For good measure, the Ducks withstood a rousing shift from the Vegas top line in the final minute, which included a two-on-one opportunity as well as a backdoor chance for Ivan Barbashev. Gibson stoned second-liner Pavel Dorofeyev near the buzzer. Gibson flummoxed Dorofeyev again in the second period, when the Russian winger weaved through multiple defenders and gallivanted about the goal crease for not one but two dangerous sweep-in attempts.

“(Gibson) does it night in and night out. He’s a hell of a goalie and made a lot of big ones for us tonight,” Drysdale said.

The reigning champs pushed back in the second period, getting a goal off a turnover and in transition from between the circles by Martinez, 7:23 into the frame. They cashed in on the power play 5:11 later when former Duck William Karlsson threaded a pass from behind the net to Stone in front for a swift redirection.

Less than 20 seconds later, the Ducks took another penalty, during which they were hemmed in for an extended period after a failed clearing attempt. They gutted out the short-handed situation and then cushioned their lead with 2:15 remaining.