Ducks 4, Golden Knights 3: Anaheim Survives a Three-Goal Third

October 2, 2026 - Paradise - Eight seconds left in the first period, Beckett Sennecke scored, and T-Mobile Arena had the look of a long night for Vegas. Seven minutes into the second it was 4-0. The Golden Knights scored three in the third. They never tied it.

The Anaheim Ducks beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3. Anaheim is 1-0-0. Vegas is 1-1-0 after opening Tuesday with a 5-2 win over Chicago. These clubs met in last year's second round. Vegas won that series in six and went to the Western final, the AP recap noted. Friday was Anaheim's answer in October.

Leo Carlsson had a goal and an assist. Lukas Dostal stopped 27 of 30. Carter Hart stopped 16 of 20 in 57:40 before the extra attacker. Shots finished 30-20 Vegas. Anaheim needed every one of the four it put behind Hart early.

4-0 in 27:03 of hockey

Sennecke, wrist shot, 19:52 of the first. Carlsson the primary assist, Tristan Luneau the second. 1-0.

The second period was a burst. Alex Killorn tipped one at 1:33 from Noah Warren and Mikael Granlund. 2-0. Jeff Malott, 55 seconds later, a deflection from Tim Washe and Jackson LaCombe. 3-0. Carlsson snapped his own at 7:03 from A.J. Greer and Cutter Gauthier. 4-0.

Malott, Warren, Washe, and Luneau are not seeded on AthX player pages. The goals still count. The names stay unlinked.

Period hockey was lopsided, then loud. Anaheim 1-0 after one, 4-0 after two, 4-3 at the horn. Vegas outshot Anaheim 30-20 and still spent two periods without a goal. Hart faced 20 shots and allowed four. Dostal faced 30 and allowed three, all in the third.

The first period had two Anaheim penalties after a Vegas trip at 9:39: holding the stick at 10:54 and high-sticking at 17:41. Vegas did not score on either. Sennecke still found the 1-0 goal with eight seconds left, even strength. Vegas tripped again at 20:00 of the second. The power play carried into the third and still needed Theodore's even-strength goal to get on the board.

Sennecke played 18:04 with a plus-2. Carlsson played 17:43. Gauthier put five shots on Hart in 17:51 and took 4 PIM. Killorn's tip was his only goal in 15:14. Malott needed 10:39. Eichel's 22:07 led Vegas forwards. Theodore's 24:40 led everyone.

Three in the third, a failed challenge, and Bowman at 17:10

Shea Theodore snapped one at 4:38 of the third from Brett Howden and Jack Eichel. 4-1. Anaheim challenged. The NHL landing lists a delay-of-game penalty for an unsuccessful challenge at that same timestamp. Vegas went to the power play.

Tomas Hertl scored on it at 6:07, wrist shot, Mitch Marner and Eichel. 4-2.

Braeden Bowman made it 4-3 at 17:10 from Victor Olofsson and Brayden McNabb. 2:50 left. Hart was already on the bench for stretches. Dostal held the last 170 seconds.

Eichel finished with two assists, two shots, one block, and 22:07. Theodore played 24:40, scored, put four shots on Dostal, blocked two. Hertl's power-play goal, five shots, and two blocks are the best Vegas skater line. None of it erased 4-0.

Attendance was 17,619. Coverage was ESPN+. Anaheim hosts Florida on Sunday. Vegas visits Vancouver that night.

Hart's 1.60 AthX Engine line is the cost of four goals against and 16 saves. Dostal's 10.20 is the cost of surviving the third. Carlsson's two points in 17:43 sit between them on a night Vegas spent chasing.

AthX Engine on a 4-3 hold-on

Anaheim's team line is 17.80. Vegas, a regulation loss with three goals, is 2.60. Dostal's win and 27 saves against three goals are 10.20. Hertl is 8.50. Carlsson is 7.60. Theodore is 7.40. Eichel is 6.70. Hart's 16 saves and four goals against are 1.60; he is not on the public daily goalie board.

Fantasy points measure the box. Price is what traders will pay for Carlsson after a two-point opener and for a Vegas club that spent two periods asleep. They are not the same number.

Track Carlsson, Dostal, Theodore, Hertl, and both clubs on the marketplace.

*Sources: AP recap (ESPN), ESPN box score, NHL.com scoreboard, NHL gamecenter boxscore 2026020021. AthX Engine fantasy points scored from that verified box. Information only; not financial advice.*