LAS VEGAS -- — If the first round of the NHL playoffs played out almost exactly like the opening series a year ago when the Golden Knights eliminated Minnesota in six games, their next opponent is a striking reminder to the one they just vanquished.
The Golden Knights again are the more playoff-seasoned team, but the Anaheim Ducks counter with a faster team interested in more of a track meet when their best-of-seven series opens Monday night in Vegas.
Much like the Utah Mammoth, a team Vegas eliminated in six games on Friday night. The Golden Knights are -210 favorites.
Their playoff experience was crucial against the Mammoth, never panicking even when the Golden Knights had every reason to, trailing in the third period in each of the first five games. They found ways to survive before putting together their most complete game in the 5-1 clincher.
“I think (the experience) only helps the farther you go,” Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “The pressure ramps up as you keep going. A lot of guys in here have had long playoff series and understand what it's like. Intensity and speed kind of ramp up as the series goes on.”
The Golden Knights have advanced beyond the first round for sixth time in their eight playoff appearances. The 2023 Stanley Cup champions have missed the postseason only once in their nine years as a franchise.
This is the Ducks' first playoff appearance since 2018, but Vegas captain Mark Stone said that is misleading. Nine players not only appeared in the playoffs before this season, eight have played in conference finals and beyond. Alex Killorn won two Stanley Cups in Tampa Bay and John Carlson was on the Washington team that beat the Golden Knights for the 2018 championship.
“So you still have to be on your toes,” Stone said. “You just have to play good. You're playing against the same opponent for seven games potentially. Experience helps, but it's not everything.”
The Ducks certainly aren't exhibiting a just-happy-to-be-here vibe. That was evident in their six-game series victory over an Edmonton team that played in the past two Cup Final series.
“We didn’t accomplish any goal yet,” Anaheim defenseman Jackson LaCombe said. “We’re kind of playing as underdogs through the whole playoffs here, so we’re just going to keep doing our thing.”
Ducks wing Troy Terry said the focus after dispatching the Oilers didn't take long to shift to the Golden Knights.
“It’s May, and you guys (media) are still talking to me,” Terry said. “It’s new for me, and it’s new for a lot of us. It’s just exciting to come to the rink.”
LaCombe appeared to signal his arrival as an NHL star in the first round with nine points and shutdown defense against Connor McDavid, but other Anaheim youngsters also had auspicious playoff debuts.
Leo Carlsson scored eight points and thrived in the run-and-gun tempo of the first series, demonstrating his formidable two-way game while centering Anaheim’s top line. The 21-year-old Swede led the Ducks with 28 shots.
Cutter Gauthier kept up the pace from his 41-goal regular season, pumping four past the Oilers – three on the power play with his vicious one-timers from the faceoff circle. The 22-year-old wing had seven points and forced the Oilers to pay inordinate attention to his side of the ice and created opportunities for the likes of linemate Ryan Poehling, who scored four goals.
Golden Knights forward Brett Howden was being interviewed at his locker Sunday when teammate Keegan Kolesar yelled out, “Brettsky!”
Howden kept on talking, and even he knows it's a little much to be compared to Wayne Gretzky.
“(Kolesar) likes to call me whatever he wants to call me,” Howden said with a chuckle. “Only my dad and my mom called me that growing up.”
The Golden Knights are probably done for the season if not for Howden. He scored four goals over the final three games. Two were short-handed, including the Game 5 overtime winner.
The careers of Shea Theodore and William Karlsson will come full circle in this series: Two of the most important players in Golden Knights history began their NHL careers in Anaheim before ex-Ducks general manager Bob Murray foolishly let them go.
Theodore, a first-round pick by Anaheim, was two seasons into his NHL career when Murray traded him to Vegas in 2017 to ensure the Knights would not pick Josh Manson off the Ducks’ unprotected list in the expansion draft. Theodore has been a mainstay on Vegas’ blue line ever since, become the top-scoring defenseman in team history.
Karlsson, a Ducks second-round pick in 2011, was still finding his NHL stride when Murray traded him to Columbus in March 2015 in an inexplicable deal for aging defenseman James Wisniewski, who played only 13 games for Anaheim.
Vegas took Karlsson in the expansion draft two years later, and “Wild Bill” grew into the second-leading scorer in Golden Knights history. He has been sidelined since last November with a lower-body injury, but is back skating in practice and might suit up this in this series.
Both teams made it this far because of their success on special teams.
For the Ducks, that came off the power play, where they converted 50% of their chances against the Oilers. The penalty kill was key for the Golden Knights, in which they were 15 of 16 and even outscored the Mammoth 2-1 on the Utah power play.
“I think it can definitely carry over,” McNabb said of the PK. “It's been good all year. It's something we're going to need.”
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AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham in Anaheim, California, contributed to this report.
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