Imagine a world where you deal with four power plays in your first six minutes in Game 2. Of course, you kill them all off and have still allowed one goal on the penalty kill this postseason. Certainly, that would bode well for the Vegas Golden Knights, right?
Dear reader, I have some bad news for you. The series is tied as the Vegas Golden Knights fell to the Anaheim Ducks, 3-1. Mark Stone added a late power play goal for the Golden Knights, marking a Chris Paul three-pointer as the Phoenix Suns were still down by 42 to the San Antonio Spurs.
Beckett Sennecke, Leo Carlsson, and Jansen Harkins all scored for the Anaheim Ducks. But perhaps the most noteworthy item of the game was the goaltending duel (more on that in a bit). What a contrast to the other Western Conference series, eh?
Also, did you know that the Golden Knights have never won a Game 2 in the second round... ever? Like, they're 0-6. Such an obscure stat. But hey, they've gone on to win four of the previous five series, so, silver lining, right?
Still, it's time to dive into the essentials and see what went wrong for the Golden Knights. Who fell short and who stopped the Golden Knights in their tracks? Here's what went down on Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Lukas Dostal outperformed Carter Hart in a big way in Game 2
Wednesday was a stark contrast to the goal-scoring battle between the Colorado Avalanche and the Minnesota Wild. Carter Hart and Lukas Dostal had an incredible goaltending duel, going back and forth on saves. For Hart, he stopped 25 of 27 shots. For Dostal? Well, he stopped 21 of 22 shots.
That included stops on Mitch Marner and William Karlsson, giving Anaheim a tied series. But that also included a flopping mess in front of the net, where he was dancing around on his back.
Lukas Dostal gore… sorry laughing at how dosty just laid there 🤣 pic.twitter.com/TVxKrV9CDV
— Regenda Agenda Mel (@mcnuggetmel) May 7, 2026
Okay, that was pretty funny. I would rather see that than Ben Afquack right now.
Still, the Golden Knights haven't done much in terms of offense in the second round. Their forecheck has gone quiet and the power play has been as incompetent as a Florida lawyer. While credit goes to Dostal for standing on his head on Wednesday, the Golden Knights must change their offensive philosophy quickly. Otherwise, they're stuck in Disneyland. Speaking of power plays...
What has happened to the Golden Knights' power play?
Remember when the Golden Knights had a great power play during the regular season? They generated the league's sixth-best power play (24.6%) and saw Pavel Dorofeyev set a single-season franchise record in power play goals (20). Well, it seems those days are gone.
The Golden Knights had four power plays and, once again, didn't cash in on any of them except for the late goal by Mark Stone. In fact, Dostal made five saves on the power play, barely getting tested on the man advantage. That has become a massive problem for the Golden Knights, who've suddenly gone cold offensively.
Vegas better dig deep into some Disney magic and turn up the power play. It's been a unit that has been strong during the regular season, only to watch it completely fall apart in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Again, the Golden Knights will be stuck in Disneyland if that doesn't change.
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