NHL Recap: Golden Knights Hold Off Ducks 3-1 Despite Anaheim’s Shot Advantage

Barbashev’s Late goal lifts Golden Knights past Ducks 3-1 in game 1

Anaheim outshot Vegas 34-22 but couldn’t solve Hart as Game 2 is set for May 6.

Mikael Granlund tied it for Anaheim before Barbashev’s go-ahead goal with under five minutes left...

The Vegas Golden Knights edged the Anaheim Ducks 3-1 on Monday to open their second-round series with a 1-0 lead.

Carter Hart continued his strong run for Vegas, stopping 33 shots and holding Anaheim to a single goal for the second straight game.

The win gives the Golden Knights a 13-7 record in Game 1s since joining the league. The Ducks, meanwhile, face an uphill climb with a 4-11 all-time series record when dropping the opener, including a 3-4 mark on the road.

Game 2 between Vegas and Anaheim is set for May 6.

Slow Start Gives Way to Late Breakthrough

The opening two periods were quiet compared to Monday’s Hurricanes-Flyers game, with neither side converting on early power-play chances. Carolina had one opportunity in the first, Anaheim had two in the second, but both came up empty.

Brett Howden finally broke the deadlock in the third, netting his fifth playoff goal to put Vegas up 1-0. The tally made him the first player in Golden Knights history to score the opening goal in consecutive playoff games.

BRETT HOWDEN OPENS THE SCORING!

And take a peep at that dish from Mitch Marner!

📺: @espn, @Sportsnet, & @TVASports pic.twitter.com/IefBinRmxn

— NHL (@NHL) May 5, 2026

The shot totals stayed close as Anaheim fired 11 shots in the first period and 10 in the second, while Vegas managed six and eight. Face-offs were deadlocked at 50-50 heading into the third.

The power-play parity carried over into the final frame as well.

Neither team converted on two chances each through the first 13 minutes of the third, before Anaheim broke through on its 29th shot of the night.

Mikael Granlund scored his third of the playoffs to tie it at 1-1, assisted by Jackson LaCombe and John Carlson.

🚨 Granny 🚨

He ties it late! #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/J0Rz7Elnym

— x - Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) May 5, 2026

Jackson LaCombe became the fastest Duck to reach 10 career playoff points, doing it in just seven games and passing Paul Kariya’s eight-game mark from 1997.

The seven-game pace also ties Joe Micheletti’s 1981 record for the fewest games a defenseman has needed to hit 10 postseason points.

The tie didn’t last long, with Vegas answering just one minute later to regain the lead.

Ivan Barbashev made it 2-1 with under five minutes to go, scoring his third of the playoffs off a perfect feed from Pavel Dorofeyev for Dorofeyev’s first career playoff assist.

VEGAS ANSWERS RIGHT BACK 🤯

Just 1:05 after Anaheim tied the game, the @GoldenKnights retake the lead! #StanleyCup

🇺🇸: @espn
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet & @TVASports pic.twitter.com/TfafeiAmer

— NHL (@NHL) May 5, 2026

Barbashev joins Reilly Smith and Max Pacioretty as the only players in Golden Knights history to net a go-ahead goal in a playoff game.

That proved to be enough, with Mitch Marner adding an empty-netter in the final seconds to lock up Game 1 for Vegas.

Anaheim finished with a 34-22 edge in shots and a 35-27 advantage in hits but couldn’t convert enough, and will now look to bounce back in Game 2.