FSM Essential Recap: Golden Knights vs Ducks - Game 2

FSM Essential Recap: Golden Knights vs. Ducks – Game 2

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The opening frame for the second matchup between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Anaheim Ducks had a much different feel than what we saw on Thursday night.

While the first game saw the VGK and the Ducks scoring a combined four goals in the first period, both teams proceeded to not register a point in the first period of game 2. With that being said, VGK dominated the Ducks in regards to shot total, outpacing the Ducks 14-6 and controlled the pace of play for large swaths of the first twenty minutes. The Knights were able to kill off a late penalty on Alex Tuch for slashing and even registered a quality shorthanded chance from Reilly Smith. Fleury also proved that he still has great reaction speed with an excellent poke check on Sam Steel to keep the score even.

The second period started with 17 seconds left on the Ducks powerplay but the Knights handled the rest of the penalty kill without allowing any dangerous chances. 

Fleury showed his veteran experience with two great saves on back to back shots from both Rickard Rakell and Danton Heinen in the opening minutes. John Gibson answered back shortly after by robbing Reilly Smith on yet another quality chance.  After a questionable choice by McNabb to go for a big hit, Max Comtois scored off of a 2 on 1 at the 7:45 mark to take a 1-0 lead for the Ducks.

Comtois is the only Duck to score so far this season and has been very opportunistic so far against VGK in the past two games. The Golden Knights fired back with a great look from Alex Tuch off of a beautifully orchestrated tic tac toe type of play but were unfortunately unable to find twine. In what could have been a game-changing moment, Getzlaf got away with a high stick to the face of Ryan Reeves which would have given VGK a powerplay in a key moment, which could have shifted the momentum in the Knights favor.  The period ended with the Knights retaining the lead in shots with 25 compared to the Ducks 13, but they still trailed 1-0.

In what seemed to be a reversal of roles, the Ducks out possessed and outshot the Knights 9–7  in the third period and did a good job of shutting down the VGK in their own zone for the first 11 minutes.

A few minutes into the third period, Gibson proved his merit again with a good save on a shot by Max Pacioretty after a sloppy line change by the Ducks. Fleury showed up again in a key moment with an outstanding save of his own by deflecting a shot from Getzlaf after what could have been a costly VGK turnover in their own zone.

VGK was gifted a power play after Jakob Silfverberg shot the puck over the glass at the 11:20 mark giving the Knights a golden opportunity to tie the game up.  While Max Pacioretty had a great look on the power play off of a pass from Mark Stone, VGK failed to register a shot on goal with the extra man, and it began to feel like the Ducks were going to squeak out a win.

However, the Golden Knights had a different ending for this game in mind. Shortly after Fleury made yet another clutch save on Nicolas Deslauriers, he was pulled with just under two minutes left to bring an extra skater out for VGK and give them the man advantage. After spending the whole game with an advantage in shots, the Knights finally cashed in off of a set play, which saw the captain pass it from the left circle down below the net to Marchessault, who then dished it to William Karlsson for the game-tying goal.

The game then went to 3 on 3 overtime, which the Knights had a record of 6-6 last year. They wasted no time in sending the Ducks home with a loss as Max Pacioretty scored the game-winning goal just seven seconds into overtime off of another great pass from Mark Stone for his second goal of the season.

The Golden Knights improve to 2-0 on the season and are tied for first place at 4 points in the Honda West division with the Minnesota Wild. VGK will face the Arizona Coyotes at 7 PM Pacific on Monday night here at T-Mobile Arena with a chance to build upon their 2 game winning streak. The game can be viewed on AT&T Sportsnet.

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-DJ Wood – Franchise Sports Media

Follow DJ on Twitter @Djwoody97

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