The last time the Anaheim Ducks were in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Vegas Golden Knights were a brand-new club embarking on their first-ever post-season run, a group of misfits taking the league by storm — and taking no prisoners as they sprinted all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.
A lot has changed for both clubs in the eight years since.
After a string of five consecutive Pacific Division titles, and five straight playoff runs cut short shy of the Cup Final, the Ducks took a step back in 2017-18 and bowed out early in Round 1, their window of contention slamming shut with the sweeping defeat. And so began a long, far-reaching rebuild for the Ducks. So comprehensive was the overhaul, only a single player remains on the roster: Troy Terry, the longest-tenured Duck at just 28 years old.
Meanwhile, in Vegas, the idea of a “rebuild” is a foreign concept to the Golden Knights. All-in from the start, the club has missed the playoffs just once and won it all in 2023. Drafting and developing takes a backseat to blockbuster trades and flashy free-agent signings, making this second-round series between Vegas and Anaheim a battle of front-office philosophies, in addition to a fight for the Pacific Division crown.
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They may share a division, but there’s no rich history of heated post-season battles here. This is their first time meeting in the playoffs, with the two sides entering the ring via very different paths. The Ducks just knocked off of the back-to-back Western Conference champs — a series that saw them win three straight games to take a commanding 3-1 series lead and then bounce back to close it out in Game 6. It was a statement of a series win.
The Golden Knights welcomed the Utah Mammoth to playoff hockey with a dramatic series that saw Vegas come back from a 2-1 series deficit to wrap up Round 1 in six games. Utah’s speed gave them trouble, but the Golden Knights outlasted the Mammoth and will look to do the same against a Ducks squad that’s dangerous for many of those same reasons.
Anaheim’s first-round win came on the power of speed and high-powered offence. Vegas’ offence woke up late in Round 1 after a sluggish start, but it was ultimately the club’s lockdown defence, plentiful experience, and star power that earned the Golden Knights their ticket to Round 2.
This should be a fun one. Here’s what you need to know.
Game 1 of the series goes Monday on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+, with puck drop at 9:50 p.m. ET / 6:50 p.m. PT.
Head-to-head record
Ducks: 3-0-0
Golden Knights: 0-1-2
Playoff Team Stats
Regular-season advanced stats
(5-on-5 via Natural Stat Trick)
Key Stat: Vegas’ lockdown penalty kill
The Golden Knights’ power play may have been a little out of sorts against Utah, but they generated enough power with their penalty kill to make up for it.
Vegas’ penalty kill actually outscored Utah’s power play in Round 1 — the Golden Knights held the Mammoth to just a single power-play goal on 16 opportunities, while scoring two short-handed markers against them. They face a whole different beast in Anaheim.
The Ducks’ power play was prolific in Round 1. They registered at least one PP goal in each of their six first-round games against Edmonton, tallying a total of eight on 16 opportunities. That pace will surely slow down against Vegas, but how these units match up in Round 2 should tell us a lot about which way the series goes.
How Anaheim wins: Let the young guys fly
If there was one major advantage Utah had over Vegas, it was its speed. The second line of Dylan Guenther, Logan Cooley, and Kailer Yamamoto had the ability to turn on the jets and change the pace of the game on a dime. When those players found their moment, they could catch Vegas on their heels and when they drove to the net, good things tended to happen.
Anaheim, take note.
The Ducks piled up 26 goals through six games against Edmonton, taking advantage of some glaring goaltending questions. Pelt pucks at Carter Hart at the same rate, and they could give the Golden Knights something to think about. That’s easier said than done, of course. Vegas could write the book on clogging up the middle and eliminating shooting lanes.
The Ducks averaged 32.3 shots per game in Round 1, led by three of their youngest stars in Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, and Beckett Sennecke. Gauthier and Ryan Poehling lead the team in goals, with four each. That’s a lot of youth leading the way.
Those shots and goals will be harder to come by against Vegas. So will power-play production — it’s unlikely Anaheim can keep up its 50 per cent success rate against the Golden Knights’ elite penalty kill, but if it can find a special-teams edge, that might just be the difference.
How Vegas wins: The stars keep scoring
Watching the Golden Knights in Round 1 against Utah was like seeing a team slowly gain steam, right up to the final knockout blow in Game 6.
Leading scorer Pavel Dorofeyev took a few games to hit his stride, but when he finally found his footing with his first goal of the series in Game 4, things turned in Vegas’ favour. A hat trick in Game 5 saw the Golden Knights push Utah to the brink of elimination.
That’s when Mitch Marner took over. Scoreless through the first five games, the former Maple Leaf was doing little things well but had yet to make the big play. That changed with a two-goal game to propel the Golden Knights to a series-clinching win.
The Golden Knights’ depth scoring was a big story in the first round, as was the emergence of Brett Howden as a big-game performer. This is a team that’s built around star power, and they need those players to lead the way.
Experience isn’t everything — the Oilers learned that last round — but it certainly came in handy for the Knights last round as they climbed back from down 2-1 in their series as well as three third-period deficits to ultimately move on.
The wild card when it comes to star power will be William Karlsson. He hasn’t played since November, but was on the ice with the team in Utah and appears to be nearing a return. His status will be a story to watch.
Escalating Vegas’ need to find the back of the net is the fact its own netminder, Carter Hart, hasn’t been in a position to steal many games yet this spring. He stepped up in the series opener (two goals allowed on 33 shots) and again in Game 6 to seal the victory (one goal on 23 shots) but in between, he struggled at times.
He allowed four goals on 12 shots in what head coach John Tortorella called a “weird” Game 3. Vegas’ elite defence and ability to suppress opponents’ shots will be crucial until goaltending can steal it a game.
