Ducks’ fast start propels them past Golden Knights

ANAHEIM — Though they welcomed a team from Vegas, the Ducks were in the midst of their own residency, an eight-game homestand, and its first victory came against the defending champion Golden Knights, 5-2, on Wednesday night at Honda Center.

For the title-holders’ part, they will be relieved not to have any more dates scheduled on Katella Avenue this season.

The Ducks, who entered the contest with the NHL’s third-lowest point total, have twice hosted the Golden Knights, twice beaten them and twice scored four goals in a single period, the only two times they’ve poured in four goals in a frame thus far this season. On Nov. 5, it was the third period of a game they trailed 2-0 at the second intermission, but on Wednesday the hosts made it rain early.

Brett Leason bookended the Ducks’ scoring with two goals for his first career multi-goal game. In between, Jamie Drysdale scored his first goal in nearly 21 months and Frank Vatrano and Troy Terry each netted one. Mason McTavish picked up three assists and Cam Fowler had two as 11 Ducks recorded at least one point (all in the first period). John Gibson had 30 saves.

Former Kings defenseman Alec Martinez and team captain Mark Stone each tallied for Vegas. Logan Thompson struggled, allowing five goals on 26 shots as the visitors dropped their fourth straight decision.

The Hoover Dam burst open in the first period as the Ducks inundated Vegas with four goals in under nine minutes between the 3:23 and 12:18 marks of the match.

First, Cam Fowler’s shot from the right point was deflected downward by Leason. His tip went between the legs of Max Jones, clear of Vegas defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and past Hill.

Then, McTavish collected a drop pass, juked one defender and zoomed toward three more. His cross-ice dish found a trailing Drysdale atop the right faceoff circle for a short-side snipe and his first goal since injuries sidetracked his career. The 21-year-old defenseman missed most of last season due to a torn labrum in his left shoulder and was out for the first 29 games this season due to an upper-body injury.

Next, McTavish recovered Ilya Lyubushkin’s rebound below the goal line and moved the puck decisively to Vatrano in front for a one-timer inside the near post, his team-leading 16th tally.

Finally, a steal by Trevor Zegras keyed a counterattack that culminated in Terry’s five-hole goal from near the right faceoff dot, his ninth goal this season.

For good measure, the Ducks withstood a rousing shift from the Vegas top line in the final minute, which included a two-on-one opportunity as well as a backdoor chance for Ivan Barbashev. Gibson stoned second-liner Pavel Dorofeyev near the buzzer. He made an even more spectacular save on Dorofeyev in the second period, when the Russian winger weaved through multiple defenders and gallivanted about the goal crease for not one but two dangerous sweep-in attempts.

The reigning champs pushed back in the second period, getting a goal in transition from right between the circles by Martinez 7:23 into the frame. They cashed in on the power play 5:11 later when former Duck William Karlsson threaded a pass from behind the net to Stone in front for a swift redirection.

Less than 20 seconds later, the Ducks took another penalty, during which they were hemmed in for an extended period after a failed clearing attempt. They gutted out the short-handed situation and then cushioned their lead with 2:15 remaining.

It was Leason again as an innocuous two-on-three rush turned into his first career multi-goal game. McTavish hit the net from a tough angle, creating a rebound that popped right to Leason in the low slot for his sixth goal of the campaign. McTavish, who was injured between Dec. 2 and Dec. 21, hadn’t recorded a point since Nov. 24, one game after his last multipoint showing.

The third period saw Zegras generate a breakaway chance but overall the Ducks used their heavily insured lead to their advantage. They also killed a late penalty with aplomb and then drew an infraction against Vegas to seal the victory.

More to come on this story.