Nobody had the Ducks evening this series after getting waxed 6-2 in Game 3. Yet here we are. Anaheim went into the Honda Center, took the body, leaned on the power play, and walked out 4-3 winners to flatten the series at 2-2. Game 5 is back at T-Mobile Arena, and the pressure has officially shifted across the desert.
Cutter Gauthier was the engine in Game 4 with 3 assists, and Beckett Sennecke, Mikael Granlund, Alex Killorn and Ian Moore did the finishing. Lukas Dostal only had to stop 18, but he held the lead when it mattered. The Ducks finally won the special teams battle — both Sennecke and Killorn cashed on the man advantage — and that's the formula they have to drag back home if they want to actually steal this thing.
Vegas, meanwhile, played Game 4 without captain Mark Stone (lower body, exited Game 3) and it showed in the details. Mitch Marner racked up 3 assists and Jack Eichel chipped in 2, so it's not like the stars went quiet — the depth just couldn't punch back the way it had earlier in the series. Whether Stone is in the lineup Tuesday is a guess; the staff isn't talking about injuries publicly, so the lineup card is the only confirmation anyone will get.
- Day-To-DayDrew Helleson D — day-to-day
- Day-To-DayRadko Gudas D — day-to-day
- Injured ReservePetr Mrazek G — Mrazek underwent season-ending hip surgery Tuesday.
The market still likes Vegas at home, and not by a little. Pinnacle has the Knights at -150 on the moneyline and a fair-probability read of 58.3%, with the puck-line set at -1.5 (+166). Translation: oddsmakers are betting Game 4 was a blip and home ice plus a (potentially) healthier roster reasserts itself. The total sits at 6.0, with the over juiced to -116 — reasonable given both teams have hit 5+ in 3 of the 4 games so far.
This is the swing game. Win it, and you've got two cracks at closing the series with the other team needing to win twice. Vegas has Carter Hart, the louder building, and probably the better top-end skill on paper. Anaheim has the momentum, the power play that just woke up, and a Dostal who is starting to look like the answer in net with Petr Mrazek done for the year after hip surgery. If the Ducks can survive the first 10 minutes of a riled-up T-Mobile crowd, this gets interesting in a hurry.