The Anaheim Ducks roared back in dramatic fashion Wednesday night, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights 3-1 to even their second-round playoff series at one game apiece. It was a statement win for the young Ducks, who now head home with momentum firmly on their side for Game 3 on Friday night.
Beckett Sennecke, a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's top rookie, continued his breakout postseason by becoming just the fourth Ducks player aged 20 or younger to score multiple goals in a playoff run. He was joined on the scoresheet by Leo Carlsson and Jansen Harkins, providing the offensive spark Anaheim needed.
But the real story was between the pipes. Goaltender Lukas Dostal was absolutely stellar, stopping 23 shots and coming within just 5.6 seconds of recording his first career playoff shutout. The near-perfect performance was only spoiled when Mark Stone managed a power-play goal in the dying moments of the game. It would have been Dostal's third career shutout across regular season and playoffs combined.
On the other side, Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart made 25 saves in a losing effort. Vegas also saw two impressive streaks come to an end: Brett Howden's four-game goal streak and Ivan Barbashev's seven-game point streak both were halted by the Ducks' defense.
The series now shifts to Anaheim, where the Ducks will look to take control. For Vegas, the script feels familiar—they opened their first-round series against Utah with a 1-1 split before winning in six games. They'll be hoping for a repeat performance, but the Ducks have other plans.
In other second-round action, the Buffalo Sabres kicked off their series against the Montreal Canadiens with a convincing win. Bowen Byram and Ryan McLeod scored on consecutive power plays, breathing life into a Sabres special teams unit that had been struggling. Buffalo's 4-1 victory marked their first second-round playoff appearance since 2007, and goaltender Alex Lyon continued his strong postseason run with 26 saves.
The Canadiens, meanwhile, looked sluggish after a grueling seven-game first-round series against Tampa Bay. Montreal has yet to win back-to-back playoff games this postseason, and they'll need to find their legs quickly with Game 2 set for Friday night in Buffalo.