The Anaheim Ducks head to T-Mobile Arena on Monday to face the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 1 of their second-round NHL playoffs series. It is the next step for two teams that needed six games to get here, and both arrive with momentum built the hard way.
Anaheim knocked out the Edmonton Oilers in six games after dropping Game 1, then winning Game 2 on the road and Games 3, 4 and 6 at home. Cutter Gauthier tied for the team lead with four goals in that series, while Jackson LaCombe led the Ducks with eight assists. Vegas also advanced in six, surviving a first-round matchup with the Utah Mammoth despite a 2-1 deficit after Game 3. The Golden Knights had home-ice advantage in that series, but Utah forced them onto the road before Vegas turned the matchup with two road wins and finished the job in blowout fashion in Game 6 in Utah.
Brett Howden scored a first-period goal in that clincher, and Vegas never trailed or was tied again after taking the lead. That matters because the Golden Knights have now shown they can absorb pressure, win away from home and close out a series decisively when the game tightens. Anaheim, meanwhile, has already proven it can recover from an opening loss and play its best hockey when the series shifts back to familiar ice.
What makes Game 1 feel loaded is the contrast in how these teams arrived here. The Ducks had to win without home-ice advantage against Edmonton. The Golden Knights had the benefit of it against Utah and still had to survive a wobble before finding their edge. Now the setting changes again, with Vegas opening at home and Anaheim trying to carry the lessons of a six-game comeback into a second round that offers no margin for a slow start.
The next answer comes quickly: whether the Ducks can avoid another opening-night setback, or whether Vegas can make its home ice matter from the start. Either way, Game 1 will say a lot about which club is better built for a series that already has the feel of a grind.
