Mason McTavish scored the go-ahead goal with 3:40 remaining, and Sam Carrick added two late goals as the Anaheim Ducks rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period to defeat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 on Sunday night, handing Vegas its first regulation loss of the season.
Carrick scored the tying goal with 9:05 left and sealed the victory with an empty-netter. Adam Henrique ignited the comeback with Anaheim’s first goal in the impressive final period against the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Ducks have won six straight games for the first time in nearly two years.
“Going down 2-0 to the Stanley Cup champions, the best team in the league, in my opinion … and to show resiliency and to come back, and we’ve done it a bunch of times against a bunch of teams, it’s pretty impressive to see that kind of resiliency in this group, especially such a young group,” said forward Alex Killorn after making his Ducks debut.
Vegas’ 12-game point streak to start the season was the longest by a defending champion in NHL history. The Golden Knights had also earned a point in 20 straight regular-season games since last March, the second-longest streak in the last 40 years.
“That’s a good start, but you never want to lose, and we can’t feel happy about anything,” said Vegas forward William Karlsson, a former Ducks draft pick. “We’ll try to learn from this and go try to win the next one because I’d love to go 82-0-0, but yeah.”
After five straight non-playoff seasons, the Ducks are starting to attract attention with their exciting play. Their six-game winning streak includes five third-period comebacks, matching the 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres for the most late comebacks in a six-game streak in NHL history.
“The game is mental,” first-year Anaheim coach Greg Cronin said. “It’s about believing in one another. It’s about believing in a system and executing the system. Obviously, we have enough talent to convert the effort and the intensity we’re bringing into games to score goals and defend, (but) it’s still early. I told them it’s a great win; you put it in your pocket, and you get ready for the next one.”
Anaheim trailed 2-0 entering the third, but Henrique scored a power-play goal from the slot to get the Ducks on the board. They tied it when Jack Eichel turned over the puck to Ducks rookie Pavel Mintyukov, who set up Carrick for his second-season goal.
McTavish scored his sixth season goal with a slick one-timer under pressure, beating Vegas goalie Logan Thompson. Carrick’s cross-ice shot deflected in off the post to secure the win.
John Gibson made 29 saves for Anaheim, while Frank Vatrano and Cam Fowler each had two assists.
Ivan Barbashev and Eichel scored for the Golden Knights, who faded late on the second night of a back-to-back after steamrolling Colorado 7-0 on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Thompson stopped 18 shots.
“I give our players a lot of credit,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “That’s their fourth (game) in six days, and I think we gave up three chances, and they all ended up in the net. So that’s going to happen some nights. Timely saves and timely goals. we could manage the puck a little better in certain situations, but as a coach, you’re looking at no major breakdowns. Just some pucks that had eyes.”
Vegas took a 2-0 lead during 4-on-4 play late in the second when the Ducks didn’t pressure Eichel, who skated in on Gibson’s glove side and fired a wrist shot into the net.
Killorn debuted his Ducks after missing the first 10 games with a broken finger, skating alongside veterans Henrique and Jakob Silfverberg. Killorn was injured in a preseason game on Sept. 27, delaying his first appearance with Anaheim after 11 seasons with Tampa Bay. In July, the Ducks signed the two-time Stanley Cup champion to a four-year, $25 million contract.
UP NEXT
- Golden Knights: Host Los Angeles on Wednesday.
- Ducks: Host Pittsburgh on Tuesday.