05/09/26 02:31:00
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05/09 00:34 CDT Marner's first playoff hat trick propels Golden Knights to 6-2
rout of Ducks and 2-1 series lead
Marner's first playoff hat trick propels Golden Knights to 6-2 rout of Ducks
and 2-1 series lead
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) --- Mitch Marner had three goals and an assist in his
first career playoff hat trick, and the Vegas Golden Knights routed the Anaheim
Ducks 6-2 on Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in their second-round series.
Shea Theodore had a goal and an assist and Brayden McNabb scored a short-handed
goal as the Golden Knights stormed to a 5-0 lead after two periods, silencing a
sellout crowd in Orange County and erasing memories of their rough offensive
outing in Game 2.
"Our desperation level definitely got higher," Marner said. "I just like the
way that we came out and started. The first 10 minutes really, we just played
our game and got to it, and that's something we were missing the first two
games."
Carter Hart made 30 saves as Vegas moved halfway to the Western Conference
finals while sending the upstart Ducks to the worst loss of their first
postseason in eight years.
Game 4 is Sunday night in Anaheim.
Marner got his natural hat trick in the first two periods, giving him six goals
in the past four games of his first playoff run with his new team. The longtime
Maple Leafs forward delivered Vegas' first four-point playoff performance since
2019 and prompted a few hats to be thrown onto the ice when he slipped his
third goal under Ville Husso with 2:04 left in the second.
"I think (Marner) is very confident in what he brings," Vegas coach John
Tortorella said. "People give him (grief) all the time about playoffs, and this
and that, and I don't think it bothers him a lick. He just plays. He's a hockey
player, and I'm glad he's doing some things for us."
Marner's three goals were more than he scored in last spring's entire 13-game
playoff run with Toronto, where the Ontario native frequently got criticism for
not delivering in the postseason.
"It's always nice to try to contribute, but at the end of the day, you just
want to win games," Marner said. "There's been a lot of different moments so
far in this playoffs that people have stepped up and made big plays. Tonight,
(there were) a lot of great plays by people around me to set me up in a spot
where I could succeed."
Beckett Sennecke and Chris Kreider scored in the third period for the Ducks,
who got embarrassed in their team's first home game in the second round since
2017. Kreider's goal was the 50th of his playoff career.
"I thought they played well, but I don't think we brought our best," Ducks
forward Alex Killorn said. "Maybe a little bit comfortable, in all honesty.
They're a great team. We just have to have a little bit of a better start and
effort."
Lukas Dostal gave up three goals on eight shots in a rough first period before
Husso replaced him. Anaheim coach Joel Quenneville said he wasn't sure whether
Dostal would start Game 4.
"They were desperate. They were hungrier," Quenneville said after his team's
first home playoff loss of the spring. "I think there's a lesson to take out of
today's game, and it's only going to get harder every single game. ... They
play like they're an experienced bunch and they know what is necessary as you
progress in a series. They got our attention."
Vegas captain Mark Stone didn't play in the third period after apparently
incurring a lower-body injury in the first period. Tortorella declined to give
details.
Theodore, Anaheim's first-round draft pick in 2013, put Vegas ahead 66 seconds
after the opening faceoff with his 20th postseason goal.
The 35-year-old McNabb then scored the third short-handed goal of his 14-year
NHL career, and Marner capped the Knights' stellar first period with his fourth
playoff goal on a power play. Marner tapped in a pass from Theodore midway
through the second.
Brett Howden put his sixth playoff goal into an empty net with 1:56 left.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
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