Ducks avoid let down, defeat Vegas, 6-5

In Anaheim, the special teams for the Ducks and the visiting Vegas Golden Knights were on display.

Trailing 1-4 in the second period, the Knights picked up a shorthanded goal in the period from Zach Whitecloud and a second shortie to start the third period, to cut the deficit to one goal.Mathias Janmark potted the second goal.

Max Pacioretty and Reilly Smith added power play goals in the third period, but it was naught as the Ducks held on for a 6-5 win on Wednesday night.

Anthony Stolarz made 34 saves in the Ducks win.

“We don’t want to be a one-trick pony, that’s for sure,” Anaheim head coach Dallas Eakins said. “We can’t just have it from one of our defensemen, or two of our defensemen and one of our lines. We have to find a way to consistently have different people on that scoreboard.”

Vegas dropped to 12-10-0.

“At the end of the night, you score four or five goals, you should win,” Vegas head coach Peter DeBoer said. “Our attention to detail defensively wasn’t good enough.”

The Ducks’ Isac Lundestrom  scored a shorthanded goal with 64 seconds left to give Anaheim a 6-4 lead.

Smith scored off the power to cut it to 6-5.

“If you want to look at the positive side, I think today with shorthanded goals, and power-play goals and 6-on-5 goals, it’s almost like we have to come up with a point,” Janmark said. “But we don’t, so we pretty much gave this one away.”

After a scoreless first period, Troy Terry put the Ducks up 1-0 with his 15th of the season in the second period.

“That first goal put us on our heels a little bit, and then you’re playing from behind,” DeBoer said.

Rickard Rakell pushed the lead to 2-0 before William Carrier got Vegas on the board for a 2-1 Anaheim lead.

Anaheim’s Josh Manson was credited with a goal that deflected off Pacioretty to give the Ducks a 3-1 lead.

“(Our forwards) are getting in front of the net,” Manson said. “Look at my (goal) tonight; [Zegras] is right there in front of the net, presenting a stick, and the goalie’s got to be a little bit distracted and it goes off a skate and in.”

Hampus Lindholm made it 4-1 for Anaheim when he hit for a goal.

Anaheim improved to 138-3.

Jamie Drysdale also had a marker in the win.

Robin Lehner made 28 saves in the Vegas loss.