Ducks find their power-play scoring touch and defeat Vegas to even playoff series

"With a 4-3 victory Sunday before a raucous sold-out crowd at the Honda Center, the Ducks evened the series 2-2 as it heads back to Las Vegas for Game 5 on Tuesday. But it wasn't easy, with the Golden Knights twice rallying from one-goal deficits, only to see the Ducks answer each time. The Ducks' power play, so lethal in the team's first-round win over Edmonton and so ineffective in the first three games of this series, finally found a spark, scoring goals in each of the first two periods."

"The Ducks were fast and physical in the early going, playing with an urgency they lacked in their Game 3 loss. They also did a better job protecting the puck and that paid off with the team's first power-play goal of the series 8:43 into the first period. Vegas had killed 11 penalties against the Ducks and 21 consecutive dating back to Game 3 in their first-round series against Utah. But after Dylan Coghlan went off for interference, Sennecke teed up a slap shot from the top of the right circle for his fourth goal of the playoffs, putting the Ducks up 1-0."

"The lead didn't last long, however, with Dorofeyev evening things with a power-play goal of his own about a minute and half later. The goal, on a tip-in, was Dorofeyev's fifth of the postseason. Granlund put the Ducks back on top less than five minutes before the first intermission, taking a pass from Jeffrey Viel along the left-side boards and getting off a shot as he battled Vegas forward Cole Smith. The puck appeared to strike the blade of Smith's stick as Viel let it go and that proved fortunate for the Ducks since the deflection fooled defenseman Noah Hanifin and goalie Carter Hart, who both let the bouncing puck tumble through them and into the goal."

The Ducks won 4-3 at Honda Center to even the best-of-three series 2-2 and return to Las Vegas for Game 5. Vegas twice rallied from one-goal deficits, but the Ducks answered each time. The Ducks’ power play, ineffective earlier in the series, scored in each of the first two periods, with goals from Beckett Sennecke, Mikael Granlund, Alex Killorn, and Ian Moore. Vegas goals came from Pavel Dorofeyev, Brett Howden, and Tomas Hertl. The Ducks played faster and more physical early, protected the puck better, and earned their first power-play goal of the series at 8:43. Sennecke scored after Dylan Coghlan’s interference, Dorofeyev tied on a power play, and Granlund restored the lead before the first intermission.

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