Golden Knights close homestand with 3-1 win over Ducks to remain undefeated

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Brett Howden, Tomas Hertl and Pavel Dorofeyev each scored a goal and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-1 on Sunday night.

Ilya Samsonov had 22 saves for Vegas.

Troy Terry scored the lone goal for the Ducks and James Reimer made 29 saves.

Vegas improved to 3-0-0 in its first three games for the fifth time since it joined the NHL in 2017. The Knights also improved to 24-7-1 all-time against the Ducks, including a 14-3-0 mark in Vegas.

Takeaways

Ducks: Playing in just its second game of the season, Anaheim appeared to be feeling the effects of playing the second of back-to-back nights after its 2-0 win in San Jose on Saturday. Vegas outshot the Ducks 32-23.

Golden Knights: After allowing Terry to score in the first period, Samsonov appeared settled in for his debut for Vegas when he stymied Trevor Zegras on a breakaway attempt early in the second period.

Key moment

With the Ducks on the penalty kill, they got caught with just three able skaters when Isac Lundestrom lost his stick, and multiple times couldn’t gather the puck. Vegas took full advantage when Mark Stone fed Hertl across the slot for a one-timer at the doorstep. The goal served as the game-winner and was Hertl's first of the season.

Key stat

15 - Vegas has scored 15 goals in its first three games of the season, the most in the first three contests of a campaign in franchise history

Up Next

The Ducks open the home portion of their schedule Wednesday against the Utah Hockey Club, while the Golden Knights open a three-game road trip Tuesday at Washington.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

W.g. Ramirez, The Associated Press