Recap: Ducks Down Vegas 6-5 for Back-to-Back Wins

Trevor Zegras and Sonny Milano posted three assists apiece, powering a 6-5 Ducks win over the Vegas Golden Knights tonight at Honda Center. Anaheim has now won three of its last four games (3-1-0) and sits third in the Pacific Division by points (13-8-3, 29 points) and point percentage (.604).
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With the win, the Ducks improved to 11-4-0 since a Halloween afternoon win over Montreal at Honda Center, the best record in the Western Conference and the second-best mark in the NHL over that span.
"I thought right from the start, right through the finish, we were moving our feet," head coach Dallas Eakins said. "I thought we made some great plays at the other end. As always, if pucks go in your net, it's always along the line. You're looking to try to keep those out. We made some mistakes, we didn't get squirrely on the bench, we just kept playing."
Anaheim also improved to 9-4-1 at Honda Center, tied for the most home wins among Western Conference clubs.
"Our fans here are incredible," Eakins said. "It is so loud down on that bench. I think they have had a massive effect on our home record here. Without them last year, go have a look at what our home record was. This year, with them, it's like day and night."
Troy Terry, Rickard Rakell, Josh Manson, Hampus Lindholm, Jamie Drysdale and Isac Lundestrom scored for Anaheim.
Anthony Stolarz made 34 saves to earn his third conseuctive victory.
For the second straight night, Anaheim skated to a scoreless first period thanks to an early goaltending duel. Stolarz turned aside all 13 Vegas shots he saw in the opening 20 minutes while Golden Knights netminder Robin Lehner made 11 saves on the other end of the ice.
The scoreless deadlock did not last long in the middle frame, though. After weathering a Vegas surge to start the period, Anaheim took the first lead of the night. Jamie Drysdale took a pass at the right point from Sam Steel before working his way towards the slot and spotting Terry alone on the far side of the ice. Drysdale delivered a perfect pass and Terry did the rest, one-timing a shot just inside the post to give Anaheim a 1-0 lead.

With his 15th goal of the season, and third in his last four games (3-0=3), Terry matched his goal output from his first three seasons combined in just 23 games. The 24-year-old winger ranks tied for fourth among league leaders in goals (15) and tied for sixth in points (15-10=25). He leads the Ducks in both categories.
Terry also became the third player in club history to score 15 goals in their first 23 games of a season, joining Paul Kariya (twice, 1995-96 & 1997-98) and Teemu Selanne (1997-98).
The Ducks doubled the lead two minutes later after a lengthy shift in the offensive zone by Rakell and his linemates, Milano and Zegras. Zegras pressured the puck on the forecheck, attacking the Vegas defense behind its goal line and poking the puck free for Milano, who tapped it towards the slot. Rakell got to it first, lifting a shot over Lehner's shoulder on the near side, putting the Ducks ahead by two.
"When we win our battles is when we start to create offense," Manson said. "If you play them smart and you win your battles, you're going to get chances the other way. That's kind of the way it's been going the here the last two games."

Rakell has 3-2=5 points in six appearances after missing 10 games with an upper-body injury.
"Everytime they went on the ice, they had chances to score," Eakins said of Rakell, Zegras and Milano. "With Getzlaf going out, we had some lineup decisions to make. We felt it was important to keep Z, Sonny and Raks together. Raks is the glue there. He provides offense and a lot of safety and responsibility. I think it's a good mix of three guys."
The Golden Knights got on the board a couple shifts later when William Carrier skated behind the Ducks defense and beat Stolarz on a breakaway, cutting the Ducks' edge in half.
Anaheim went right back to work though and minutes later got a fortunate bounce to reclaim the two-goal lead. Manson held the puck in at the right point, skating down the wall while looking for a passing lane that never developed. Running out of racetrack, Manson decided to fire the puck towards a sea of bodies in front of the net, where it bounced off Alex Pietrangelo's skate and past Lehner to give the Ducks a 3-1 advantage.

The Ducks buried their fourth goal of the period with just over three minutes still to play before the second intermission. Zegras won a faceoff to Lehner's right with Milano tapping the puck back to Lindholm at the left point. Lindholm fired his shot towards the net, getting it through traffic in front and by Lehner for his third goal of the season.

"I've been saying it all year, I think our D core is if not the best, one of the best in the league, just in terms of physicality, skill, we kind of have it all," Zegras said. "When they're scoring two or three goals a night, it kind of makes our job a lot easier."
Zegras has 4-8=12 points in his last nine games, including four multi-point performances. He ranks tied for second among NHL rookies in scoring (6-11=17) and tied for third in goals and assists.
Much like a night ago when the Ducks led the Kings 4-1 in the third period, Vegas refused to go down quietly, fighting their way back into the game with a pair of shorthanded goals bookending the second intermission. Zach Whitecloud scored the first, beating Stolarz from the slot with 12 seconds to play in the middle period. Mattias Janmark notched the second just two minutes into the third.
With Vegas holding all the momentum and now down just a goal, Milano and Zegras kickstarted what would soon prove to be a significant insurance goal for Anaheim. Zegras got the puck to Milano on left wing, who raced into the zone and fed Drysdale on the right side of the ice. Drysdale got rid of his shot quickly and surprised Lehner, shooting to the far side and beating the Vegas netminder inside the post, restoring the Ducks' two-goal lead.

The seesaw action would continue though as Vegas again got back within a goal on a power-play tally by Max Pacioretty, who zipped a shot over Gibson's shoulder with 8:30 to play in regulation.
Vegas was afforded a golden opportunity to tie the game when Josh Manson was given a roughing penalty as only two minutes remained in regulation, but Stolarz made two key saves and Lundestrom hit the empty net, seemingly sealing Anaheim's 6-4 win.

Lundestrom has scored in three of his last four games (3-0=3).
Like it was all night though, nothing would come easy for Anaheim as Vegas again fourth their way back into the game. With Lehner on the bench again and the extra attacker on the ice, Reilly Smith got his stick on Pietrangelo's shot from distance, redirecting the puck by Stolarz with just 28 seconds to play.
The Golden Knights would not get another crack at the net to tie the game though, and the Ducks earned a 6-5 win.
Anaheim concludes its brief two-game homestand Friday against Calgary.
Tickets are on sale now.