Sennecke energizes Ducks throughout Game 4 win of Western 2nd Round

ANAHEIM -- Beckett Sennecke appeared to be in a little trouble.

The Anaheim Ducks forward was trying to get the puck into the Vegas Golden Knights zone while on the power play with a little over two minutes left in the second period.

As he approached the Vegas blue line, he whiffed on the puck and by the time he gathered it, Vegas forward Brett Howden was right in his face.

But instead of panicking, the 20-year-old, who is lighting the playoffs on fire for the Ducks in the Western Conference Second Round, pulled a spin-o-rama, carried the puck into the zone and got it to teammate Alex Killorn, who would score about 10 seconds later.

“He wowed the whole building with that move there, and it ends up going in,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said.

It was by far the flashiest play by Sennecke, but not the only big one he made in Anaheim’s 4-3 win in Game 4 at Honda Center on Sunday that evened the best-of-7 series 2-2.

He also scored a goal and was a physical menace all night long, giving the Ducks a much-needed win and some momentum heading back to Vegas for Game 5 on Tuesday (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN360, SN, TVAS).

Sennecke, who was selected No. 3 by Anaheim in the 2024 NHL Draft, said he fed off a Honda Center crowd that was trying to will the Ducks to rebound from their 6-2 loss here in Game 3 on Friday.

“It was awesome, especially in the first. We heard them, they were really loud,” Sennecke said. “And I think that’s why we kind of started on the front foot.”

And they stayed in control for most of the game, with Sennecke not only leading the way on the scoreboard, but along the boards or in the corners. Whatever he took from Vegas, he dished back out, not backing down. Pretty impressive for someone playing in his first NHL postseason.

“He was really involved emotionally in the game tonight,” Killorn said. “I think that’s when he plays his best. He’s making hits, he’s taking hits. He makes two great plays on (his) goal and finds me, on my goal when he enters the zone.

“I just like the way he plays.”

His play is a big reason the series is tied. He got the Ducks started on Sunday, scoring a power-play goal at 8:43 of the first period, beating Golden Knights goalie Carter Hart between the pads from near the blue line.

The teams then traded goals and appeared to be going into the second intermission tied, but Vegas’ Cole Smith got whistled for slashing Leo Carlsson at 16:43, sending the Ducks back on the power play and setting the stage for Sennecke’s flashy move.

“I fanned on the pass and I don’t really know what happened,” Sennecke said, “but I fanned on the pass and I just kind of spun and the guy bit on it. And I found Killorn, it was a low cycle and he took it to the house.”

Killorn’s goal at 17:58 of the second period was the biggest play of the game, Vegas coach John Tortorella said.

“I think we need to get out of the second period 2-2,” Tortorella said. “So that (goal) gave them some life.

“That was the most important part of the game.”

But Sennecke wasn’t done. As the second period ended, he mixed it up with Vegas forward Nic Dowd near the blue line, eventually taking a cross-checking minor.

“He gets in the mix and he takes that penalty, I have no problem with that,” said Killorn, a veteran of 150 Stanley Cup Playoff games. “He’s battling and that’s kind of what makes him good and keeps him in the game. And he’s been great so far in these playoffs.”

It was one of many skirmishes Sennecke was involved in, either on the receiving end or giving end of what he called pops.

“I mean personally, I got popped a couple of times,” Sennecke said. “So yeah, they are hitting hard, but we’re doing it back to them.”

They also did it to them on the power play, scoring twice on the man-advantage after going 0-for-11 in the first three games.

“If they are going to try to take liberties on our top guys, we’re going to go out there and make them pay,” Sennecke said. “And that’s a huge momentum-turner in the playoffs.”

Sennecke himself has been a big momentum-turner in the playoffs. He has four goals in 10 games, and has scored in three straight games, making him the second Ducks rookie to score in three consecutive playoff games, joining Bobby Ryan, who did it in 2009.

And he’s having a blast. After the game, he was joking about his mom being in attendance and wondering if his goal was enough of a Mother’s Day gift.

When asked how much fun he’s having, Sennecke said, “a lot.”

“I mean, its really cool, it’s kind of something you dream of as we talked about, having it in my first year, I’m super, super fortunate.” 

So are the Ducks.