Anaheim rebounded from a rough Game 3 to beat Vegas 4-3 in Game 4, sparking a revived power play and key playoff goals.
A brutal Game 3 seemed to have Anaheim’s season slipping, but the Ducks arrived in Game 4 with the kind of urgency that changes momentum fast.
The young Anaheim Ducks levelled their second-round series with the Vegas Golden Knights thanks to a 4-3 victory at the Honda Center on Sunday night.. After Vegas dominated Game 3 by winning 6-2 at Anaheim. Anaheim responded with resilience and sharper execution. turning a deficit that felt looming into a game that went right down to the wire.
Much of the swing came from special teams and lineup adjustments.. A power play that had gone dormant against Vegas suddenly found its rhythm. and coach Joel Quenneville made the kind of changes that can energize a team: he returned three players to the lineup—centre Mason McTavish and defencemen Olen Zellweger and Ian Moore—after they had been healthy scratches.. Those moves paid off, especially Moore, who scored his first career playoff goal at 3:43 of the third period.
That third-period strike ultimately stood as the game-winner, giving Anaheim a response it badly needed.. Alex Killorn also highlighted the mental edge the Ducks showed. saying on the broadcast after the final buzzer that Anaheim needed to avoid going down 3-1 in a series and to protect their home ice. particularly with their crowd behind them.
Anaheim’s power play. which had looked like its usual threat in the first round against the Edmonton Oilers. was the clearest sign of that bounce-back.. In that opening series, the Ducks were 8-for-16 on the power play during a six-game victory.. Against Vegas. however. the man advantage went cold early—Anaheim went 0-for-11 through the first three games of the series—making Game 4 feel like a critical test of whether the unit could regain form.
Game 4 delivered that answer.. Beckett Sennecke opened the scoring less than 10 minutes in. finishing a play set up by Killorn from the top of the right circle and beating Vegas goalie Carter Hart.. It was Sennecke’s third straight game with a goal. underlining how consistently the super-rookie has been delivering during the playoffs after being taken as the third overall pick in 2024.
The Ducks added another power-play-related moment late in the second period. when Killorn finished off the sequence after taking the puck to the net from deep in the zone and squeezing it past Hart.. Sennecke earned an assist on the play. continuing a storyline that has followed him throughout the matchup: turning entries into sustained possession and finding space against pressure. including a sequence where he pirouetted away from Vegas forward Brett Howden at the blue line to establish the Ducks’ control inside the Knights’ zone.
Overall, Anaheim went 2-for-4 on the man advantage in Game 4, a major development for a team that needed its special teams to wake up quickly. The turnaround was made even more significant by the fact that it came in a must-win kind of atmosphere, with momentum and confidence on the line.
While the spotlight often falls on Anaheim’s young core. Game 4 also showed that veteran experience still matters in these series.. Killorn scored his fourth playoff goal, demonstrating that he can still deliver at a high level when the games tighten.. Mikael Granlund. age 34. also added to the scoring with his fourth playoff goal. finding the net late in the first period.
Defensively, Jacob Trouba’s workload was another part of Anaheim’s control.. The 32-year-old logged more than 26 minutes for the second time in these playoffs and recorded nearly four minutes of short-handed time. reflecting how much responsibility he carried on a night when Vegas remained dangerous even when chasing a comeback.
For Vegas. the offence carried familiar names. but Brett Howden has become the kind of forward teams struggle to stop when the postseason pace ramps up.. After scoring 12 times in 58 regular-season contests. Howden arrived in the playoffs tied with Matt Boldy of Minnesota and Logan Stankoven of Carolina with seven postseason goals.. His Game 4 strike pulled Vegas even at 2-2 in the second period. converting a pass from centre William Karlsson after driving the net.
Karlsson’s own night helped explain why Vegas looked different after returning to the lineup.. The veteran Swede hadn’t played since early November. and his return at the start of this Round 2 was a key storyline entering Game 4.. Sources indicate he was involved in the moments that led up to Howden’s goal. retrieving a puck below the goal line and finding Howden in the slot before absorbing serious contact from Trouba.
Getting back into high-octane playoff hockey after months away can be difficult. but Karlsson appeared to be growing more comfortable with each game. and his presence helped balance the Vegas lineup.. One immediate on-ice benefit of his return was allowing Mitch Marner to move back to his more typical right-wing position. a role that supported an even heavier offensive output.
Marner continued his recent hot streak in Game 4 by recording three more assists. bringing him up to 16 points for the postseason and retaking the scoring lead.. Even with Anaheim’s revival. Vegas kept pressing. and Marner’s production showed the Knights can still generate chances even when they’re not ahead.
Still, not every Vegas star has found the same payoff this postseason.. Tomas Hertl finally broke through in Game 4, ending a long scoring drought by snapping a 29-game goalless run.. His goal came on a 6-on-5 situation with 64 seconds left. turning the contest into a one-goal game and keeping Vegas in it to the final moments.
Even if it came at the tail end and may have been too little to swing the result. Hertl’s goal matters for what comes next.. With Game 5 on the horizon. Vegas will look to regain control after a Game 4 that tested depth. timing. and finishing—especially in the face of an Anaheim team that proved it can bounce back when the pressure rises.
For the Ducks. the message from Sunday night was straightforward: the team can correct course quickly. make the right lineup calls. and revive the power play in the moments that decide series.. If Anaheim can carry that urgency forward. the second-round fight will remain wide open. with both sides now knowing how quickly the balance can shift from one game to the next.
Anaheim Ducks Vegas Golden Knights Game 4 power play Mason McTavish Ian Moore playoff series