NHL: Ducks find power-play success, edge Knights to even series

Beckett Sennecke and Anaheim Ducks teammate Alex Killorn each recorded a goal and an assist to lead Anaheim to a 4-3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday night, evening their Stanley Cup Playoffs Western Conference semifinal series at 2-2.

Mikael Granlund and Ian Moore also scored for the Ducks, while goaltender Lukas Dostal made 18 saves. Cutter Gauthier contributed three assists as Anaheim responded strongly on home ice.

“We’ve got momentum and things are going good as long as you can keep it,” Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville said. “That’s better than chasing it.”

For Vegas, Pavel Dorofeyev, Brett Howden, and Tomas Hertl found the back of the net. Hertl ended a 29-game goal drought, while Howden also converted on a key opportunity. Goaltender Carter Hart stopped 19 shots in the loss.

The Ducks set the tone early after Sennecke opened the scoring with a power-play goal from the top of the right circle at 8:43 of the first period. Dorofeyev answered with a power-play goal of his own midway through the frame, before Granlund restored Anaheim’s lead after capitalizing on a turnover in the slot.

Vegas tied the game again early in the second period when William Karlsson set up Howden for an easy finish.

Killorn broke the 2-2 deadlock late in the second period, scoring Anaheim’s second power-play goal of the night with 2:02 remaining in the frame. It marked a breakthrough for the Ducks’ power play after going scoreless in its previous 11 opportunities across the first three games of the series.

Ian Moore extended Anaheim’s lead in the third period with his first career playoff goal, firing a point shot at 3:43 after the Ducks successfully killed a penalty.

“Going down a couple of goals is always tough to come back,” Vegas forward Colton Sissons said. “We’ve done a pretty good job throughout the year and playoffs, too. Yeah, it’s tough.”

Hertl pulled Vegas within one with 64 seconds remaining, knocking in a loose puck, but Anaheim held firm in the closing moments.

The Golden Knights played without captain Mark Stone, who left Game 3 with an undisclosed injury. Brandon Saad returned to the lineup in his absence.

Despite the loss, Vegas head coach John Tortorella remained confident heading into Game 5.

“I have zero worry about this team, as far as how we’re going to go about the next few games here,” Tortorella said. “Wherever it goes to, I have total trust.” -Field Level Media/Reuters