Vegas Golden Knights vs Anaheim Ducks: Hope for the Road

The Vegas Golden Knights start a lengthy road trip in Anaheim to battle against the Ducks. Joined by their fathers, the Golden Knights are prepped and ready to dominate the road, as in past seasons. The Vegas Golden Knights have started a tradition of inviting the Knights’ fathers along for the ride during several games in the season. Out of ten accompanied games, the Knights have won nine in the most recent season. 

Period One

The Golden Knights are still recovering from the staggering loss against the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday. The battle against Carolina exasperated some key areas the Vegas hockey club has needed to improve on, and the first period of the Anaheim game had the residue. The young Anaheim roster forced the Knights to match their pace on the ice. While the Knights held the offensive momentum, the VGK continued to mismanage the puck. The Ducks caught a mid-term tripping penalty and sent Vegas to the power play. Even though the Ducks currently are on the floor level of the Western division of the NHL, they successfully killed the power play.

Despite the multiple misses on the puck and intercepted passes from the Knights, they had many good looks in the offensive zone. Nicolas Roy and newcomer Grigori Denisenko both created numerous scoring opportunities for the Golden Knights. Off the rush into the defensive zone of Vegas, the Ducks scored on a recovery. Highlighting a weakness, Head Coach Bruce Cassidy noted in prior instances that the Knights need to shut down offensive plays on the inside (near the net and down the slot). However, the Knights responded in less than a minute and a half, with Shea Theodore setting up Nicolas Roy to score. After both teams were tied at one, the first period ended.

Period Two

The second period started with a determined Anaheim shift. The Golden Knights fought off the constant attacks but continued to give pucks away. Head Coach Bruce Cassidy made some changes to his offensive lines. Jack Eichel, Ivan Barbashev, and Pavel Dorofeyev were a new line, William Karlsson was set between Alexander Holtz and Brett Howden, and finally, Tomas Hertl, Keegan Kolesar, and Nicolas Roy. These lines revitalized the Knights, nearly doubling their shots on goal, compared to a tied SOG number between the two clubs in the first.

The Knights were given another power play on a high-sticking call. Just 15 seconds into the power play, Tomas Hertl scored his first goal in eight games (2-1). The Golden Knights returned the kindness and sent the Ducks to a power play from a tripping penalty on Jack Eichel. The Knights killed the power play, giving credit to the new lines. The Vegas club appeared to be cleaning up their gameplay, reminding the audience of their professional status. Cutting off their recently-rediscovered game, Grigori Denisenko received an unnecessary hooking penalty while his line was rushing into the offensive zone.

Period Three

The VGK successfully killed the Denisenko penalty but didn’t stop there. Soon after the power play, Pavel Dorofeyev thrived with his new linemates and scored (3-1). We can project that Coach Cassidy will continue to use these lines in the future due to their ability to read one another. The Golden Knights continued to manage their pucks skillfully and won the battles on the boards. Despite the improvements, they received more penalties than standard in this matchup. Brett Howden drew a high-sticking penalty, but the power play killers successfully buried the man advantage six feet under. The Knights were sent to the power play that proved unsuccessful, and instead, the Ducks scored late in the third (3-2).

Golden Knights Make Their Fathers Proud

The Golden Knights have historically performed their best on the road, but the latter is true at the start of the 2024-2025 NHL season. After a few losses and the ending of their home-winning streak, the Knights had a lot riding on this matchup. Setting the tone for this road trip, this game could either crush or inspire hope for the Knights. Though there were some issues still present for the Vegas club, it is clear they have no intention of giving up anytime soon.