Here are three things to watch in Game 2:
1. Jackson LaCombe
The Ducks defenseman had a couple of forgettable moments in Game 1.
After a dazzling play by center Leo Carlsson to set him up with an open net in the second period, he passed up a shot. After a controversial decision by an official to wave off an icing in the third, he made a poor play with the puck that led to the winning goal.
But the 25-year-old has been outstanding in his first Stanley Cup Playoff run.
“This guy’s special,” Anaheim forward Ryan Poehling said.
An assist in Game 1 gave LaCombe 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in seven games. He tied Joe Micheletti’s NHL record for fewest games to 10 playoff points by a defenseman and passed Hockey Hall of Fame forward Paul Kariya for fewest to 10 playoff points by an Anaheim player. Micheletti had 10 points (one goal, nine assists) for the St. Louis Blues in 1981. Kariya had 10 points (six goals, four assists) in eight games in 1997.
Now LaCombe has a chance to reach 10 playoff assists faster than any defenseman in NHL history. Micheletti had 10 in nine games in 1981, and Jaccob Slavin had 10 in nine games for the Carolina Hurricanes in 2019.
2. Penalty kill
The Ducks went 8-for-16 on the power play against the Edmonton Oilers in the first round but 0-for-4 against the Golden Knights in Game 1.
“They did a good job against us,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “Obviously, they’ve got great sticks. The time and space is a lot tighter. We had a couple looks, but at the same time, we had one of those special series in the last one where we don’t expect to be scoring at that rate.”
The Golden Knights went 15-for-16 against the Utah Mammoth on the penalty kill in the first round and are 19-for-20 in the playoffs.
“Carter has a little bit to do with it, made some saves,” Tortorella said. “Yeah, it’s a skilled team we’re playing against. I think they feel confident. The biggest thing when our penalty kill started taking off a little bit is, we’re going together. If we’re going to be aggressive, we’re moving all together. All four guys are aggressive. If we have to sit tight and hold on, we do that. Blocking shots at key times.”
3. Traffic in front
Hart is 5-2-0 with a 2.49 goals-against average and .910 save percentage in the playoffs after making 33 saves in Game 1.
“He’s so calm in the net, made some really big saves, especially late in the game,” Hanifin said. “He’s been incredible for us. We’ve just got to continue to build and keep playing well in front of him.”
The Ducks want more traffic in front. Easier said than done.
“I mean, coming from Edmonton to this team, this team, their ‘D’ corps is just massive,” Poehling said. “They play hard defensively. They’re sound defensively. They’re in the right spots, so you’ve really got to work to get your chances, and that’s taking away the goalie’s eyes, but it’s going to be a lot harder to do that this series. But it’s definitely something that I think that we’re kind of (concentrating) on.”
