The Vegas Golden Knights powered into the Western Conference Final after a commanding 5-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks in Game 6 on Thursday night at Honda Center.
Vegas seized control early with three first-period goals and never looked back, advancing to the conference finals for the fifth time in franchise history and the first time since capturing the Stanley Cup in 2023.
Mitch Marner starred again for Vegas, scoring a highlight-reel goal just 62 seconds into the game before assisting on two more opening-period scores. His postseason total climbed to an NHL-best 18 points. After taking a stretch pass from William Karlsson, Marner slipped past the defense and finished with a between-the-legs move at the crease. “I just tried to find open ice cutting through the middle,” Marner said. “‘Karl’ made a great pass to me and I just tried to make a move.”
Vegas doubled the lead midway through the period when Brett Howden buried a short-handed one-timer off another Marner setup. The goal marked Howden’s third short-handed tally of the playoffs, tying an NHL postseason record.
Shea Theodore then added a power-play goal late in the period to make it 3-0, stunning the home crowd and putting Anaheim in an early hole it never escaped. “They were harder on pucks,” said Ducks forward Troy Terry. “It felt like we were just waiting for something to happen.”
Anaheim briefly cut the deficit in the second period when Mikael Granlund scored on the power play, but Vegas regained full control in the third behind two goals from Pavel Dorofeyev. Dorofeyev capitalized on a turnover early in the final frame before adding another sharp-angle finish later in the period. The winger closed the series on a tear with five goals over the final four games and now leads the NHL postseason with nine goals.
“We knew we were going to come with a push in the second,” said Anaheim rookie Beckett Sennecke. “We were down three goals, so we just tried to move our feet, shoot the puck and, credit to their goalie, he made nice saves.” Goaltender Carter Hart stopped 31 shots for Vegas, while Lukas Dostal made 16 saves for Anaheim.
The Ducks’ surprising postseason run ended in their first playoff appearance since 2018, while Vegas continued its strong finish under coach John Tortorella, who took over late in the regular season and guided the club to the Pacific Division title and consecutive playoff series wins.
The Golden Knights will now meet the Colorado Avalanche in a best-of-seven series beginning Wednesday in Denver.
Editorial credit: Jeff Whyte / Shutterstock.com
