Golden Knights 3-1 Ducks (December 23, 2024) Game Recap

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Tomas Hertl scored a go-ahead goal in the third period, Adin Hill made 31 saves and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-1 on Monday night.

After the Ducks tied the game early in the second period on Mason McTavish’s goal, Hertl broke the tie when he took a pass from Jack Eichel in front of Anaheim goaltender Lukas Dostal and maneuvered to his backhand.

Tanner Pearson scored a shorthanded goal in the first period and Keegan Kolesar scored in the third period for Vegas.

Dostal made 19 saves to relieve pressure on Ducks starter John Gibson, who stopped all 11 shots he faced before being eliminated in the first period when Vegas player Tanner Laczynski accidentally bladed the veteran goaltender caught the eye of his bat.

Takeaways

Ducks: Brock McGinn left with a lower-body injury after hitting Hertl on the boards, forcing the Ducks to substitute fourth winger Brett Leason.

Golden Knights: Coach Bruce Cassidy earned his 119th victory, the most wins by a head coach in club history. The team was founded in 2016. The former Jack Adams winner has a record of 119-59-20 in three seasons.

Key moment

Anaheim’s Alex Killorn had a chance to get the ball going in the second period and dumped the puck in. Hill went behind the net to retrieve the puck, which bounced off one of the linesman’s skates and went toward the goal. Hill dove awkwardly to save the ball, and Anaheim’s Leo Carlsson had a wide-open goal but fired a backhand wide of the right edge.

Key statistics

After playing 65 minutes in Sunday’s 5-4 overtime win in Salt Lake City, Dostal added 39:37 in relief of Gibson, for a total of 104:37 played in about 24 hours.

Next

The Ducks host Philadelphia on Saturday. Vegas travels to San Jose for a Pacific Division clash on Friday night.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL