An awful start for the hosts led to a 6-2 Vegas victory on Friday night and a 2-1 lead for the Golden Knights in the second-round series, so how do the Ducks respond in Game 4?
The Ducks’ Alex Killorn, left, and the Vegas Golden Knights’ Jack Eichel battle for the puck during the first period of Game 3 of their second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at the Honda Center.
ANAHEIM — Maybe this is where youthful enthusiasm and a short memory – and some desperation – kick in. If they do, the Ducks are far from out of this Western Conference semifinal series. If not, this learning experience will be painful. Friday night’s Game 3 was excruciating enough.
The Vegas Golden Knights chased Lukas Dostal out of the Ducks’ net after one period, ran up a 5-0 lead – including Mitch Marner’s natural hat trick – before a belated third-period surge by the hosts, and skated away with a 6-2 victory, a 2-1 series advantage … and maybe the X factor, a penalty kill that allows them to operate with a little more impunity. The Ducks, who converted half of their power plays in their first-round victory over the Edmonton Oilers, have taken an 0-fer with the man advantage so far against the Knights, going 0 for 2 on Friday night to extend their futility to 0 for 11 for the series.
Would that, perhaps, lead the visitors to ramp up the physicality a little more, figuring it won’t hurt them on the scoreboard?
“There wasn’t many power plays either way tonight,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville noted, considering Vegas was 1 for 3 in man-advantage situations. “But at the same time they played like they’re an experienced bunch, and they know what is necessary as you progress in a series. You can parse those words as you wish for any hint as to how Sunday’s Game 4 will unfold, but the meaning should be simple.
The Golden Knights played desperately in Game 3, and even a group without as much collective playoff experience should understand that when you’re down 2-1 in a best-of-seven, you ramp up the desperation, do whatever it takes and use whatever methods you must to even the series.
“There’s all kinds of stuff going on all the time,” Quenneville said. “Every shift, there could be stuff going on. … There’s always games within the game. We gotta be better at that.
” Quenneville also noted that “I always find there’s one game in the series where you can throw it away. ” In other words, the only way one bad loss can destroy you is if you let it linger. Thus, the onus will be on the Ducks – a team, remember, with lots of players with minimal playoff experience – to flush this one quickly and attack Sunday’s game with their own desperation.
“Each game’s kind of a standalone thing,” Ducks forward Chris Kreider said. “So we’ve just got to be better going into the next game. ” Might the Ducks have made the opposite mistake going into Friday’s game? Were they possibly a little too satisfied after outplaying Vegas for much of the Game 1 loss and winning Game 2 fairly convincingly?
“I thought they played well, but I don’t think we brought our best,” forward Alex Killorn said, suggesting his team was “maybe a little bit comfortable after last game. They’re a great team. We just have to have a little better start and effort throughout the game. ”“I think there’s been some good things on the power play,” Killorn said.
“They’ve obviously done a great job and even in the first round they had a great kill. We just got to find ways to, if we’re not gonna score, we have to make sure we’re getting some momentum, at least getting some shots on net.
” Kreider, along with Beckett Sennecke, made the game mildly interesting in the third period with goals to chip away at what was a 5-0 deficit, after which Quenneville pulled goalie Ville Husso with 4½ minutes left to try to pull closer. But 2½ minutes after that Brett Howden found the empty net. Kreider and Killorn are two of the three members of the Ducks’ roster who have actually lifted the Stanley Cup. Defenseman John Carlson is the other.
You think they might have a few things to tell their young teammates in the time between Games 3 and 4?
“Yeah, I mean, throughout the season we’ve done a great job. It hasn’t really fazed us when we get scored on first. I think playoffs is a different beast in the sense that teams, once they score, are going to play a little bit differently and protect the lead, especially a veteran team like Vegas, who defend so well. … “I mean, this is a seven game series.
It’s part of it. For a lot of guys, it’s their first time in the series, but it’s a great opportunity. We’re going to have a great crowd at home and we’ll look forward to the next game. ” And who knows?
Maybe Vegas coach John Tortorella inadvertently provided a talking point for the Ducks. Now that they’ve ceded home-ice advantage back to the Knights with Friday’s defeat, maybe they should treat home ice as a“Everybody talks about the home-ice advantage and stuff like that,” Tortorella said following Friday’s game.
“You talk to the majority of players and coaches in the playoffs, and it’s probably easier to play on the road. They’re together. They’re doing things prior to games. In between games they’re together.
It’s more of a focused group.
“You just simplify when you’re on the road. You simply worry about playing hockey. No distractions. I think that helps.
” Then again, consider where Tortorella’s team plays its home games, within sight of the Strip. Distractions help keep Las Vegas’ predominant industry in business. Never mind. Let’s just say that for the clearest path to winning this series, the Ducks better win Sunday at home.
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