How the manchild and the Ducks manhandled the Golden Knights in Game 2

The Anaheim Ducks defeated the Vegas Golden Knights by a final score of 3-1 on Wednesday night and evened up the second round series at one game apiece. After holding their own in Game 1 and getting a bad break on a questionable call, the Ducks came out with a vengeance and dominated the Golden Knights in Game 2 with an ice breaker from a rookie, solid goaltending, and lineup changes that made an immediate impact.

The manchild broke the ice

After a first period in which the Ducks outshot the Golden Knights 13-4 and territorially controlled play in the offensive zone, thanks to a string of four consecutive powerplays, the Ducks were struggling to break through Vegas netminder Carter Hart. However, in the second period the ice finally broke, as recent Calder Trophy nominee, Beckett Sennecke, opened up the scoring for the Ducks.

That was only Sennecke's second goal of the postseason, but with new linemate Jeffrey Viel, the two complimented each other well. Sennecke finished the game with an expected goals percentage of 79.7 in all situations and 78.9 at five versus five. For context, no Golden Knights skater finished Game 2 with an expected goals percentage above 65 percent at five versus five. The fact that Senencke was not even the Ducks best player when looking at expected goals, just further illustrates how dominate the Ducks were.

Dostal almost had the shutout

The Ducks have not had a shutout for the entirety of the 2025-26 season, including playoffs, and were so close to achieving that feat. With under 6 seconds remaining in the third period, Mark Stone redirected a Jack Eichel shot behind Dostal, snatching the elusive feat away from the Ducks and their netminder. However, Dostal had another solid outing, allowing just the one goal and finished Game 2 with a .955 save percentage. In both games against the Golden Knights so far, Dostal has a .930 save percentage and 1.52 goals against average.

Lineup shakeups pay off

Not one to rest on his laurels after a loss, Anaheim head coach Joel Quenneville made some last-minute lineup changes prior to the puck drop. Unsurprisingly and perhaps mercifully, Ian Moore was a healthy scratch, as he would definitely be better suited to play his natural position as a defenseman, instead of as a winger on the fourth line.

The more shocking healthy scratch though, was Mason McTavish. While his offensive production has not been awful with 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) in 7 playoff games, the Ducks expect more from McTavish and rightfully so. After getting a healthy extension in the offseason, McTavish has not met expectations. While his one-timer on the powerplay has been a useful tool in the postseason, McTavish doesn't drive play and has not impressed from a physicality perspective.

Ross Johnston and Jansen Harkins filled in for Moore and McTavish on the fourth line. Johnston had not played in a game since March 10th, due to an injury, while Harkins last played on March 18th. While Johnston did not get on the scoreboard, he had a nice redirect attempt in the first period and registered 4 hits. Harkins, however, had an empty net goal that iced the game for the Ducks.

Even though Quenneville sounded optimistic about McTavish's ability to get back into the lineup, the fact the Ducks won without him, does not bode well for his future with the team.

What's next?

The series shifts to Anaheim on Friday night, which bodes well for the Ducks, as they went 3-0 in the opening round against the Oilers. and 24-13-4 during the regular season. Based upon how the past two games have gone against the Golden Knights, last change should also provide the Ducks with another advantage and get the top lines into more favorable matchups.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow