Adam Henrique netted two goals, and John Gibson made 49 saves in his return from a lower-body injury, leading the Anaheim Ducks to a 3-2 shootout victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night.
Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry each had two assists and scored in the shootout for Anaheim. Gibson stopped Mark Stone’s attempt in the shootout, while Reilly Smith shot wide for Vegas.
“I think we got the best goalie in the world back there. That’s what happens when you put a couple behind (their goalie), and your goalie makes 50 unbelievable saves,” Zegras said.
Stone scored a short-handed goal, and Ben Hutton also found the net for the Golden Knights, who lost both games of their back-to-back against the Southern California teams, including a 4-2 loss to Los Angeles on Wednesday.
Adin Hill, Vegas’ starting goalie, was replaced in the first period after conceding two goals on five shots. Logan Thompson came in as relief and stopped 22 shots.
“We changed the goalie, and I’m not a big proponent of that. But something looked off,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said.
Hutton tied the game at 2 for Vegas with 6:28 left in the second period, scoring his first goal, which deflected off the skate of defenseman Urho Vaakanainen.
Stone intercepted John Klingberg’s mishandled pass and scored on a short-handed breakaway, cutting the deficit to 2-1 with 6:45 left in the first.
The Golden Knights lead the league with seven short-handed goals, including two by Stone. However, Vegas went 0 for 5 on power plays, including a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:51 in the first period. Anaheim also failed to capitalize on their power-play opportunities, going 0 for 5.
“Honestly, we misfired on some of our opportunities, and it was probably the difference in the game. Either team scores on the power play, it probably doesn’t end up going to a shootout, right?” Cassidy said.
Henrique scored twice in the first 12:26 to give the Ducks a 2-0 lead. He opened the scoring by putting in his own rebound after it deflected off defenseman Daniil Miromanov 3:27 into the game.
“Obviously, we knew they played last night,” Zegras said. “They got a bunch of their key guys out, and we wanted to jump on them early. … It’s Vegas, they’re an unreal team, and obviously we don’t love, love those guys, so it’s nice to beat ’em every once in a while.”
Henrique’s slap shot from the high slot for his 11th goal of the season ended Hill’s night, beating him on the blocker side.
“It’s awesome,” Zegras said, sending Hill to the bench early. “The Adam Henrique slapper from the blue line, it’s electric.”
CENTURY CELEBRATION
Zegras has accumulated 36 goals and 65 assists in 135 games, making him the third-fastest Duck to reach 100 points. Paul Kariya did it in 98 games, while Bobby Ryan needed 126.
“Obviously, it’s kind of the people you’re with, your team, and the guys you can share it with,” Zegras said. “I thought it was pretty cool that it came from Troy and ‘Rico,’ and they were both in on the play.”
WORTH NOTING
Golden Knights forward Michael Amadio had an assist in extending his point streak to five games. He has four goals and three assists in that span.
UP NEXT
- Golden Knights: Host Nashville on Saturday.
- Ducks: Host Nashville on Friday.