LAS VEGAS — The Ducks opened their 2026-27 season with a little bit of payback.
Leo Carlsson had a goal and an assist, Lukas Dostal made 27 saves and the Ducks opened the season by holding off the Vegas Golden Knights, 4-3, on Friday night, defeating the team that ended their playoff run last spring.
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Beckett Sennecke, Alex Killorn and Jeff Malott also scored goals for the Ducks.
Shea Theodore, Tomas Hertl and Braeden Bowman scored goals and Jack Eichel had two assists for Vegas, which lost in regulation for just the fourth time (15-4-1) in 20 regular-season games against the Ducks at T-Mobile Arena. Carter Hart finished with 16 saves for the Golden Knights.
The Ducks took a 1-0 lead with eight second left in the first period on a breakaway goal by Sennecke. Carlsson picked up the primary assist on the play with a highlight-reel stretch pass from deep in his own zone to Sennecke, who snuck behind a pair of Vegas defenders and then beat Hart with a wrist shot on his glove side.
The Ducks extended their lead to 4-0 in the second period, scoring twice in the span of 55 seconds early in the frame.
Killorn, stationed in the slot, made it 2-0 at the 1:33 mark when he redirected Noah Warren’s wrist shot from the right point over Hart’s right shoulder. Warren, making his NHL debut, picked up an assist for his first career point.
Malott followed with a goal on a double deflection. Jackson LaCombe fired a shot from the left point that Tim Washe deflected off Malott’s skate and under Hart’s pads.
Carlsson made it a four-goal lead at the 7:03 mark when he found himself wide open and slammed in a rebound in the slot after Hart had turned away shots by Cutter Gauthier and A.J. Greer.
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Theodore kickstarted Vegas’ rally early in the third period when he snapped a wrist shot from the middle of the right circle over Dostal’s left shoulder. The Ducks unsuccessfully challenged that Brett Howden was offside earlier in the play, earning the Ducks a two-minute delay of game penalty when the goal stood.
Hertl then scored on the ensuing power play with a wrist shot in the slot off pass from Mitch Marner.
Bowman then cut the deficit to 4-3 when he scored on a rebound of a Victor Olofsson shot with 2:50 remaining.
Vegas pulled Hart for an extra attacker with 2:15 left, but Dostal turned away three shots during that final stretch.
The teams met in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs last spring, with Vegas winning in six games before eventually reaching the Stanley Cup Final.
Vegas had cruised to a 5-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in its season opener on Tuesday night in Ryan Craig’s debut as head coach.
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UP NEXT
The Ducks host Florida in their home opener on Sunday at 5 p.m.
More to come on this story.