ANAHEIM -- Ryan Kesler made his season debut last night, heralding the return of the big, bad Anaheim Ducks.
For the Golden Knights, however, the Ducks were simply roadkill on the way to sole possession of first place in the Western Conference, as Vegas authored a masterful 4-1 victory.
Perhaps most impressively, after taking a 3-1 lead early in the third period, the visitors yielded zero quality scoring chances to Anaheim.
"They frustrated us," Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle declared. "We found ways to self-destruct."
We'll spotlight the Knights' suffocating defensive work in a bit.
William Karlsson struck the 3-1 dagger, but it was yet another wonderful shift by one of the best lines in hockey.
Reilly Smith's skating and stick cuts off Josh Manson's speed up the wall. Karlsson has Manson's nearest breakout option, Chris Wagner, covered.
Manson has to move the puck, but instead of chipping it forward off the boards -- not a great option, true -- he inexplicably drops it back to nobody.
In a play emblematic of the team's contrasting styles, 5'10" Jonathan Marchessault turns on a dime, leaving 6'2" Kesler in his wake for the loose puck.
It's sheer brilliance after this. Karlsson lifts Wagner's stick to create a split-second of space. Marchessault takes advantage, beating Hampus Lindholm with a pass to Karlsson's briefly-open wheelhouse.
"I knew that I couldn't get it on the forehand. I just needed to show [Marchessault] my backhand," said Karlsson. "So I whipped [Wagner's] stick away, then he passed it. Good patience by him, put it right on my stick."
It was Karlsson's team-leading 17th goal. Afterwards, Gerard Gallant talked about how the Columbus cast-off has taken advantage of his opportunity with Vegas:
He's the type of player a lot of people didn't know because he didn't get the icetime. He was in Columbus with a really good hockey team. Played really well there in a different role. Now he plays power play, he kills penalties, and he plays 18, 19, 20 minutes a night for us.
Pluses
With over three minutes left in the game, Carlyle pulled John Gibson for the extra attacker. If that seems early, it was. According to Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register, this isn't the norm for Carlyle, but up to this point, Anaheim had only thrown five harmless shots toward Malcolm Subban.
How did the Golden Knights trap the Ducks? Not with the trap, apparently.
"We go into a third period whether we're leading or behind, we try to play the same way. We try and play quick and we try to play fast and we try and forecheck," Gallant said, emphasizing, "I'm not the type of coach who's going to tell our guys, let's sit back, let's trap it up a little bit here."
Carlyle observed, "In the second and third, we were making 50-foot and 60-foot passes where in the first period we were supporting the puck and making 10-to-15-foot passes."
Protecting the lead, Vegas did do a good job getting the puck in deep, making Anaheim go 200 feet. The Ducks had to contend with various layers which prevented "10-to-15-foot passes."
The first layer was an aggressive forecheck. It's hard to move the puck anywhere like this.
If Anaheim was able to evade the forecheck, Vegas tried to clog the middle. Cutting off the middle of the ice reduces passing options.
"The guys like each other," noted Gallant. "They play for each other."
Of course, the Knights wouldn't have been in this position if it weren't for Malcolm Subban's game-saving opening frame. By my count, the Ducks outchanced the visitors 7-3.
Gallant pointed out, "We didn't deserve to be 1-1 at that time."
Minuses
The first period was ugly for Vegas, as Anaheim was able to push their size and forecheck on the smaller Knights. Is that something to be concerned about in the future? More on this later.
Tonight, the Golden Knights look to take down the Kings, who seek to regain their share of the Western Conference crown.
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