ANAHEIM, Calif. — What once looked like the Anaheim Ducks’ biggest weakness against the Vegas Golden Knights turned into the very reason they managed to square the series.
Throughout the first two rounds of the playoffs, Vegas had boasted an almost flawless penalty kill. Coming into Game 4 on Sunday night at Honda Center, the Golden Knights had successfully killed off 26 of 27 penalties and were riding a streak of 21 consecutive kills.
But on this night, the Ducks’ power play finally delivered, netting two goals to power a 4-3 victory and tie the series at two games apiece.
“A lot of times, you can overpass and look for the perfect chance on the power play,” said Alex Killorn. “For us, it was about generating more opportunities and getting more pucks on net. Usually, when you shoot more, good things happen—rebounds, loose pucks in the corner, and you build chances from there. We didn’t need perfect plays; we just did a better job getting pucks to the net tonight.”
After a lopsided 6-2 loss in Game 3, the Ducks aimed to set the tone early. Following several strong shifts where they controlled the tempo, Dylan Coghlan was called for interference seven minutes into the first period.
On that man advantage, rookie Beckett Sennecke ripped a blistering one-timer from just outside the right faceoff dot, sneaking it through Carter Hart’s five-hole for the power-play goal. It marked the third straight playoff game in which the 20-year-old has scored, giving him four goals in these playoffs.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Sennecke said when asked about his playoff experience. “It’s really, really cool—something you dream about. To have it happen in my first year is just unbelievable.”
Just over 30 seconds later, Ross Johnston took an interference penalty of his own, and Vegas capitalized. A shot deflected off Mitch Marner’s glove, Lukáš Dostál couldn’t control the rebound, and Pavel Dorofeyev tapped it in for a power-play goal to tie the game.
After Mikael Granlund scored on a deflection and Brett Howden chipped in a loose puck in front—thanks to Tim Washe failing to tie up his stick—the score was 2-2. Then, with just over two minutes left in the second period, the power play struck again.
Sennecke fanned on a pass but kept the puck, spun around Howden to enter the zone, and sent a cross-ice feed to Killorn at the blue line. Killorn passed to Cutter Gauthier in the corner, followed his pass, received it back, drove down the goal line, and squeaked the puck past Hart for the go-ahead power-play goal.
“He was really into the game emotionally tonight,” Killorn said of Sennecke. “That’s when he’s at his best—throwing hits, taking hits. He made two great plays on that goal and found me when he entered the zone. I love the way he plays; he mixes it up.”
Like many 20-year-olds, Sennecke still has gaps in his game. But his offensive flair and youthful energy have been a huge boost for the Ducks all season, helping him post 60 points in his rookie campaign and earn a nomination for the Calder Trophy.
“Offensively, we try to get out of his way,” Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville said. “Defensively, we want to see more consistency. But that’s who he is, and we’ll take it.”