LAS VEGAS (AP) — Tomas Hertl scored the 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.
After the Ducks tied the game on Mason McTavish’s goal early in the second period, Hertl broke the tie when he received a pass from Jack Eichel in front of Anaheim goaltender Lukas Dostal and maneuvered toward 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 in relief of Ducks starter John Gibson, who stopped all 11 shots he faced before leaving in the first period when Las Vegas’ Tanner Laczynski inadvertently punctured the veteran goalkeeper in the eye with the blade of his staff.
Takeaway meals
Ducks: Brock McGinn left with a lower body injury after running into Hertl on the boards, leaving the Ducks to shuffle fourth-line wing 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 is 119-59-20 in three seasons.
Key moment
With a chance to gain momentum in the second period, Anaheim’s Alex Killorn dumped the puck. Hill went behind the net to catch the puck, which bounced off one of the linesman’s skates and into the goal. Hill clumsily dove in for the save and Anaheim’s Leo Carlsson had the goal wide open but fired a backhander wide right.
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 in about 24 hours.
Next
The Ducks host Philadelphia on Saturday. Vegas heads to San Jose for a Pacific Division clash on Friday night.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL
Wg Ramírez, Associated Press