Recap: Ducks Can't Rally in Third Period, Fall 7-2 to Golden Knights

Frank Vatrano and Isac Lundestrom scored while John Gibson made 32 saves, but the Ducks fell 7-2 to the Vegas Golden Knights today at T-Mobile Arena.
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The loss, Anaheim's second in a row immediately following a five-game point streak, dropped the club to 17-31-6 on the season and 8-17-5 on the road.
Lundestrom led the Ducks offensively with a two-point afternoon, including his second goal of the season. Vatrano also scored, cutting Anaheim's deficit to one heading into the third period. Trevor Zegras, Colton White and Derek Grant added assists.
Starting his third of four games since Anaheim returned from the All-Star break and coming off a franchise-record 53 saves Friday night at Honda Center, John Gibson was strong in net early to hold the Ducks in it through two periods, finishing with 32 saves.
Seven different players scored for the Golden Knights, including Paul Cotter, Shea Theodore, Phil Kessel and Jack Eichel, helping Vegas to its third straight win. Making his first start since All-Star goaltender Logan Thompson was ruled out for weeks with a lower-body injury, Adin Hill stopped 23-of-25 Anaheim shots.
Vegas wasted little time in finding the game's first lead. Just over two minutes after puck drop, the Golden Knights forced a Ducks turnover on the forecheck, capitalizing moments later when Cotter collected a rebound in the right circle and beat Gibson to the glove side.
Cotter, a 23-year-old rookie, has goals in back-to-back games and is tied for eighth among first-year NHLers in goals (10) this season.
Brett Howden doubled the lead midway through the second, finishing off a lengthy shift for the Golden Knights in the Ducks defensive zone by finding some open space in the slot and one-timing home a pass from Keegan Kolesar behind the net.
Howden has points in consecutive games for the first time this season (1-1=2).
Anaheim would respond for the end of the middle frame though, getting back within one heading to the third. Lundestrom skated the puck through the neutral zone, leaning in to protect the puck from a Vegas backchecker before directing a shot on net from in tight. Hill denied Lundestrom with the right pad, but the rebound kicked right to Vatrano on the doorstep, where he punched it home to put the Ducks on the board.

Vatrano has scored six goals in his last seven games (6-2=8). Twelve of his 13 goals this season have come on the road.
Lundestrom has assists in two of his last three games. White drew the secondary helper for his seventh career NHL point.
That would be as close as Anaheim would come though, as two sudden Vegas third-period goals scored 91 seconds apart would put the game out of reach.
The former Duck Theodore restored the two-goal cushion six minutes into the period, first holding in an attempted Anaheim clear at the blue line and then hammering a one-timer from the top of the circles through traffic and past a scrambling Gibson.
A 2013 first-round pick by the Ducks obtained by Vegas in the 2017 Expansion Draft process, Theodore has 4-11=15 points and a +16 rating in 23 games against his original NHL club.
Kessel scored less than two minutes later when the rebound from a William Carrier point shot bounced right to him alone on the backdoor, giving Gibson little chance to react in time.
The hosts' lead hit three on a great shot by Eichel, who circled out of the corner while the sides skated 4-on-4 and tucked a wrister just under the crossbar to beat Gibson short side.
Anaheim temporarily got back within three late in the third when Zegras emerged from the box and started an odd-man rush the other way, springing Grant with a pass down left wing. Grant then delivered a dish of his own to Lundestrom driving the net for a tip-in past Hill.

Zegras has points in four of his last five games (2-2=4) and 16 points (9-7=16) in his last 15 games.
Lundestrom has five points in nine games since returning from injury on Jan. 19 at Columbus.
Vegas would add two more before the final horn though to skate to a convincing five-goal win, with Amadio and Carrier striking 1:19 apart.
Amadio answered the Lundestrom goal one shift later, walking out unchecked from behind the Ducks net before stepping in towards Gibson and lifting a backhander over the outstretched netminder's right leg.
With two assists on the day, winger Reilly Smith tallied his 60th multi-point game as a Golden Knight, third-most in the team's six-season history.
Carrick capped the scoring as Anaheim's defense lost him on the backdoor, taking a pass from Chandler Stephenson with plenty of time to chip a shot up high before Gibson could lunge across his crease.
Anaheim returns home to begin a two-game homestand Wednesday against the Buffalo Sabres.