On Saturday, the Vegas Golden Knights (7-3-4) hosted the Pacific Division-leading Anaheim Ducks (10-3-1). Despite scoring the first goal, they found themselves down 3-1 heading into the third. They forced overtime but ultimately fell 4-3.
The Golden Knights broke the ice 5:47 into the first period. William Karlsson corralled the puck at center ice, entered the zone, and blew past Pavel Mintyukov. He circled the wagon and backhanded a centering pass to Brett Howden, who snapped it past Petr Mrázek.
William Karlsson circles the wagon, sends a centering pass, and it’s off Brett Howden’s stick and in the back of the net faster than you can say “the orange buckets are kind of an eyesore.”
1-0, Golden Knights
— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) November 9, 2025
Despite scoring first, the Golden Knights looked sloppy and out of sync for much of the first period. Their passes were overzealous and off-target.
The Ducks found the equalizer at 15:49 in the first. Jackson LaCombe fired a shot from the point, and Frank Vatrano redirected it past Akira Schmid.
For the second game in a row, the Golden Knights were the second-best team on the ice in the second period– and that’s only because they mathematically couldn’t be the third-best. The Ducks outshot them 12-8 and controlled 72.85% of the expected goal share.
The Ducks pulled ahead at 10:39 in the second period. Leo Carlsson pestered Brett Howden along the boards, and Troy Terry came up with the puck. Terry found Carlsson all alone in close, and the second overall pick walked in and went forehand-backhand to beat Akira Schmid far-side.
The Ducks extended their lead at 16:50 in the second. The Golden Knights lost a board battle, and Leo Carlsson fired a wrister that deflected off Zach Whitecloud’s stick through Akira Schmid’s five-hole.
As the second period expired, Troy Terry caught Noah Hanifin with a high stick. The Golden Knights didn’t score on the ensuing power play at the start of the third period, but they did gain momentum from it. After it expired, Jeremy Lauzon drew a penalty, and the Golden Knights broke through.
Jack Eichel won the offensive zone faceoff back to Pavel Dorofeyev, and Alex Killorn blocked the pass intended for Shea Theodore. Dorofeyev corralled the puck, walked right down Las Vegas Blvd, and fired a wrister past Petr Mrázek.
The Golden Knights gained life from Dorofeyev’s goal. For the rest of the third period, they were all over the Ducks like sharks entering a feeding frenzy. They outshot the Ducks 21-6 and controlled 71.8% of the expected goal share.
After shifts and shifts of sustained pressure, the Golden Knights found the equalizer at 14:53 in the third. Mitch Marner batted down Jackson LaCombe’s clearing attempt and chipped it around the defenseman for Ivan Barbashev. Barbashev held the puck and backhanded a centering pass for Kaedan Korczak, who fired a wrister that beat Petr Mrázek.
The Golden Knights had multiple chances to win the game in overtime; ultimately, they couldn’t convert. With 32 seconds remaining in overtime, Leo Carlsson found Jacob Trouba, who walked in and beat Akira Schmid five-hole.
7 Golden Knights Observations
1. The Golden Knights have now scored the first goal in three straight games. They have a record of 1-1-1 over that stretch, but it’s a slight step in the right direction.
2. Reilly Smith and Brandon Saad are both entering ‘call an exorcist’ levels of snakebitten. Smith hasn’t scored since his gift-wrapped overtime empty netter. Saad hasn’t scored since Game 82 last season against the Calgary Flames– between this year and the playoffs, that’s a 22-game goalless drought.
3. Akira Schmid was poor tonight. He wasn’t the sole reason the Golden Knights lost– that was the second period– but he won’t write home about it.
4. In the third period, Jack Eichel played like he had the fear of God put in him. He was all over the ice. He generated chance after chance and backchecked like his life depended on it. Sometimes, your best players have to be your best players; tonight, Eichel was up to the task.
5. Mitch Marner, too, answered the call in the third period. If he doesn’t bat down Jackson LaCombe’s clearing attempt, the Golden Knights probably wouldn’t have tied this game.
6. Bruce Cassidy switched up the D pairings in the third period. Kaedan Korczak moved up in the lineup beside Noah Hanifin; Zach Whitecloud moved down next to Jeremy Lauzon.
7. William Karlsson played 5:03 in the first period. After that, he didn’t see the ice again. He didn’t suffer any visible injury on his last shift and even did the intermission interview. Cassidy didn’t say much, other than that Karlsson sustained a lower-body injury.