LAS VEGAS — There was a defensive lapse that proved costly, an opposing goaltender who proved to be a puzzle that couldn’t be solved, a power play that was powerless, disputed goal and a game that, ultimately, could not be won with anything less than nearly flawless play, as the Ducks discovered Monday night.
The Ducks also learned the Vegas Golden Knights are not the same kind of team as the Edmonton Oilers. Vegas, in a 3-1 victory over the Ducks in Game 1 of a second-round series in the Stanley Cup playoffs at T-Mobile Arena, proved to be many things the Oilers were not in the first round.
Vegas made the most out of very little and then locked down Game 1, and got a break on the tiebreaking goal by Ivan Barbashev at 15:02 of the third period when an apparent icing call against the Golden Knights went uncalled. Ducks coach Joel Quenneville bellowed for justice.
None was forthcoming.
That’s hockey.
Or more to the point, that’s playoff hockey.
Mikael Granlund had tied the score 1-1 for the Ducks only moments before Barbashev’s go-ahead goal. Defenseman Jackson LaCombe set up Granlund’s goal with a sprint toward the net and a deft pass against the grain to his teammate stationed just off the right faceoff circle.
Game 2 is Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena before the best-of-seven series shifts to Honda Center for Game 3 on Friday and Game 4 on Sunday. Game 5, if necessary, will be back in Las Vegas, and if the tight nature of Game 1 is any indication, it’s likely there will be a Game 5.
Mitch Marner set up Brett Howden’s goal that gave Vegas a 1-0 lead 3:14 into the second period, a mesmerizing play that began with a bit of wizardry with the puck to the left of Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal. Meanwhile, Howden slipped behind the defense at the left goal post.
In a flash, Marner slipped the puck through a tangle of bodies and Howden merely had to tap it behind Dostal for his fifth goal of the playoffs. The first goal of the game came against the run of play and with the Ducks having generated momentum with their second power play of the game.
However, they didn’t score. Troy Terry had just ricocheted a shot off Vegas goalie Carter Hart and off the post before Marner worked his magic at the other end of the ice. Terry had been a constant presence in front of and around Hart’s net, but he had come up empty repeatedly.
Soon enough, the Ducks trailed.
The Ducks weren’t exactly conservative in the opening minutes against the Golden Knights, but they appeared more determined to defend their end of the ice and less willing to trade chances, as they did during extended stretches during their first-round victory over the Oilers.
They won plenty of battles for loose pucks along the boards and in the middle of the ice and they took away passing lanes with effective stick checks, disrupting the Golden Knights’ ability to generate chances in transition. At the same time, they didn’t abandon their own high-speed play.
There was no score after one period.
The Ducks outshot the Golden Knights 11-6.
As expected, the Ducks’ top defense pair of LaCombe and Jacob Trouba were matched against Vegas center Jack Eichel to start Game 1. LaCombe and Trouba shut down the Oilers’ Connor McDavid during the first round, an eye-opening playoff debut for LaCombe.
Vegas’ lineup was bolstered by the return of ex-Ducks center William Karlsson, who had been sidelined by an injury since a Nov. 8 game won by the Ducks at Honda Center. Karlsson skated on a line with Tomas Hertl on left wing and Keegan Solesar on the right side to start the game.
More to come on this story.