Ducks pull even with Golden Knights with unexpected defensive gem

Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson watched from the bench as his team's penalty kill sprawled around the crease, preventing several Vegas Golden Knights scoring chances in the late stages of Game 2 in their Western Conference semifinals playoff series.

"It felt like [the puck] kind of had to go in at some point," Carlsson said.

"Thanks," his goalie,Lukas Dostal, said with a sarcastic laugh.

The puck didn't go in until there were only six seconds left, as the Ducks skated away with a 3-1 win and a 1-1 series tie Wednesday night. It was a rare game in which Anaheim flexed its defensive prowess, having been one of the weakest goal-prevention teams in the regular season. But in Game 2 in Las Vegas, the Ducks excelled at 5-on-5 and on the penalty kill.

"It's not our tradition of playing that type of game -- a low-scoring affair when we score first and we're leading throughout the whole game," coach Joel Quenneville said. "This is the only way you're going to be successful in playoffs. You've got to win games like tonight."

It has been a struggle all season for Quenneville and his staff to get the Ducks to play that kind of defense. Anaheim was 29th in goals-against average and 28th in expected goals against per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 in the regular season.

"We certainly were beating that drum that we got to find a way to keep the puck out of our net. When we do, we're a good team," Quenneville said. "If you want to win in the playoffs, you better keep the puck out of your net."

The Ducks played two of their best defensive games of the playoffs in Vegas after using their offense against the Edmonton Oilers in their first-round series victory. Quenneville credited their offensive puck possession with helping to bolster their defense in Game 2.

When they needed him, Dostal was there to stop 22 of 23 shots, calling himself a "soccer goalie" on some of the scrambles in front of his crease.

"We know we have an amazing goalkeeper in the back, so it helps a lot too," Carlsson said.

But in the third period, with the Knights pressing, Quenneville said his team was fortunate not to give up a goal.

"Obviously we're lucky two or three times there at the end where they had open looks at the net. We were diving all over the place and were lucky that it didn't go in," he said.

After dominating at 5-on-5 throughout the game, the Ducks broke through in the second period on a goal by Beckett Sennecke, as the Golden Knights misread their defensive assignments in their own zone and left the Anaheim forward alone in front of goalie Carter Hart. Sennecke was named a finalist for NHL rookie of the year on Tuesday night.

Carlsson extended the lead in the third period as Vegas allowed another Ducks player to be left alone in front of Hart. This time, it was a gorgeous backhand pass from winger Troy Terry that found Carlsson for his fourth of the playoffs.

Jansen Harkins added an empty-netter before Mark Stone scored a late power-play goal for the Golden Knights to break Dostal's shutout bid with six seconds left. The Ducks were one of four teams that didn't have a shutout all season. The last Anaheim shutout was Oct. 12, 2024, giving the Ducks the longest shutout drought in the NHL.

"It doesn't matter how you win or what the score is. [Shutouts] are always the cherry on the top, but it doesn't matter. We got the W," Dostal said.

Vegas coach John Tortorella said his team needed to be quicker getting to pucks and taking advantage of its chances, but there was no panic for the Golden Knights after dropping Game 2.

"They split here. We've got to go in and try to get a game out of there," he said. "We're going to keep our composure and get about our business. This team has always been really good in these type of situations, so I have full confidence we're going to find our way."

Game 3 is scheduled for Friday night in Anaheim.