Ducks see victory snatched away
LAS VEGAS — Max Pacioretty scored seven seconds into overtime to give the Vegas Golden Knights a 2-1 victory over the Ducks on Saturday night.
Vegas rallied for the win after William Karlsson tied it with 1:22 left in regulation.
Pacioretty’s goal was the fastest to start a period in franchise history.
Marc-Andre Fleury, who came into the game 15-4-0 with a .927 save percentage and 1.95 goals-against average against the Ducks, stopped 21 shots.
Max Comtois scored for the Ducks and John Gibson had 31 saves to fall to 2-10-2 in his career against Vegas.
The Golden Knights controlled the tempo in the first period, outshooting the Ducks 14-6 and keeping Gibson busy. But three defensive gems helped keep the Ducks off the board.
First it was Brayden McNabb on his stomach, poking the puck from Sam Steel to prevent a two-on-one attack. His defensive partner, Alex Pietrangelo, also thwarted a two-on-one from his stomach when he blocked a cross-ice pass by
Troy Terry in front of the goal. And Fleury had a poke check as Steel was driving to the net with one minute left in the period on a power play to keep the game scoreless.
Catching Vegas overly aggressive in the offensive zone, the Ducks capitalized on a 3-1 rush when defenseman Jacob Larsson found an open seam to get the puck to Comtois, who was waiting at the doorstep to punch it past Fleury. It was Comtois’ 10th career goal, four of which have come against the Golden Knights. Comtois also scored Anaheim’s goals in Thursday’s season-opening 5-2 loss against Vegas.
Gibson had a couple of highlight saves in the second period, stopping Chandler Stephenson and Reilly Smith on a power play.