Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
William Karlsson beats Ducks goalie John Gibson in overtime as the Golden Knights win 3-2 in Anaheim, Calif.
Center scores twice; Knights first in West
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Before every game the Golden Knights play against Anaheim, William Karlsson and Shea Theodore get motivated by reminding one another the Ducks parted ways with both players.
Karlsson haunted his former club again Saturday.
Karlsson tallied two goals, including the winner with 1:37 remaining in overtime, to lift the Knights to a 3-2 victory over Anaheim at Honda Center.
“There’s always a little extra motivation going against these guys,” Karlsson said.
In the overtime, Karlsson got behind the defense and beat goalie John Gibson on a breakaway to help the Knights remain in first place in the West Division.
Karlsson has 12 career goals against the club that drafted him in the second round in 2011.
Alex Pietrangelo had a goal and an assist and Theodore added one assist as the Knights improved to 4-1 against the Ducks this season.
The Knights’ offense struggled to generate quality chances against Anaheim, and defensemen Pietrangelo, Alec Martinez and Theodore combined for 12 of the team’s 27 shots on goal.
But Karlsson provided a moment of magic midway through the second period to put the Knights ahead 2-1.
First, Karlsson stripped Jakob Silfverberg on the backcheck in the neutral zone and gave the puck to Pietrangelo. He then headed up ice and got behind three defenders as the long pass from Pietrangelo arrived.
Karlsson was able to chip the puck past Gibson at 9:10 of the period for his fourth goal and first in nine games.
“They’re trying to get a change, and I had (Jonathan Marchessault) yelling for the puck, so he kind of drew attention to himself and it opened up for me in the middle,” Karlsson said. “Luckily I had enough time to shoot.”
However, the Knights were unable to hold the lead in the third period with Anaheim making a strong push.
Adam Henrique, who returned to the Ducks’ lineup after being placed on waivers this past week, tied the score 2-2 when he jammed a loose puck past Marc-Andre Fleury with 8:55 remaining.
The Knights challenged that Anaheim’s Rickard Rakell played the puck with a high stick, but the call was confirmed by video review.
Fleury made 28 saves to pick up his 100th career victory with the Knights. He turned away Derek Grant from point-blank range in the third period and had back-to-back stops on Isac Lundestrom in the overtime.
“For me, I just try to try my best in practice. Try to be ready,” Fleury said. “Try to be in good shape. When I get to play, try to give a chance to our team to win the game and enjoy it.”
Anaheim opened the scoring at 10:09 when the Knights were slow to react in the defensive zone. Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler pinched in from the point to hold the zone and found Rakell open in the left faceoff circle.
Rakell gained a step on Knights center Cody Glass and fired a shot that slipped between Fleury’s right arm and body for his first goal since Jan. 24.
The Knights found the equalizer with 3:31 left in the period shortly after Fleury made a point-blank stop on Fowler. Pietrangelo gathered a pass from Theodore at the right faceoff dot and beat Gibson high to the short side.