Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) celebrates after a goal by Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mitch Marner on May 4, 2026.John Locher/The Associated Press
Ivan Barbashev scored off a terrific pass from Pavel Dorofeyev with 4:58 left to put the Golden Knights ahead for good, and Vegas went on to defeat the Anaheim Ducks 3-1 on Monday night in the opener of their second-round series.
Game 2 is Wednesday night in Las Vegas.
Barbashev took advantage after officials did not call icing, which didn’t sit well with Ducks coach Joel Quenneville, who was clearly upset on the bench.
Vegas’ Brett Howden extended his goal streak to a career-long four games, his fifth over that span. Mitch Marner, who also assisted on Howden’s goal, added a 162-foot empty-net goal with 6 seconds left and Carter Hart made 33 stops.
Mikael Granlund scored for Anaheim, and Lukas Dostal recorded 19 saves.
Vegas’ penalty kill continued to shine, extending its stretch to 14 straight without giving up a goal by keeping the Ducks off the scoreboard on four chances. Anaheim converted 8 of 16 power plays in the first round against Edmonton. The Golden Knights are 19-of-20 on penalty kills.
Golden Knights centre William Karlsson, out since a lower-body injury Nov. 8 against the Ducks, returned to the lineup. The crowd roared when Karlsson was shown on the video board after taking the ice less than three minutes into the game.
Carter Hart #79 of the Vegas Golden Knights during Game One of the Second Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 04, in Las Vegas, Nevada.Ethan Miller/Getty Images
The Ducks dominated the early action, outshooting Vegas 11-6 in the first period and then controlling the puck to open the second. But the Golden Knights scored first with their first shot on goal in the second when Marner made a pinpoint pass from the right circle to Howden, who scored easily from the left side of the net.
It didn’t appear the lead would last long when Ducks top-line centre Leo Carlsson made a dazzling spinning move to set up teammate Jackson LaCombe for an open-net goal. But LaCombe inexplicably passed up the shot for a pass, and the Golden Knights survived what appeared would be a sure Ducks goal.
Just as time was running out in regulation on the Ducks, they didn’t waste their next opportunity. LaCombe made up for his previous gaffe by walking in on Hart before delivering a pass to Granlund, who was open in the right circle.
The advantage didn’t last long, with Dorofeyev passing to Barbashev to put the Golden Knights ahead for good.