Golden Knights Beat Ducks 5-1, Advance to West Final

The Vegas Golden Knights advanced to the Western Conference final for the fifth time in franchise history after defeating the Anaheim Ducks 5-1 in Game 6 of their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series Thursday night at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Mitch Marner set the tone just 62 seconds into the game with a stunning between-the-legs backhand goal, his seventh of the playoffs and fifth in the series. Receiving a pass from William Karlsson, Marner deked Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe and goaltender Lukas Dostal before roofing the puck. "I just tried to make a move and Dostal had me covered, I thought, on the backhand," Marner said. "So I tried to do that move. Lucky enough, it worked out."

Vegas built a 3-0 first-period lead, with Marner assisting on Brett Howden's shorthanded tally, the Knights' NHL-leading fourth of the postseason, and Shea Theodore scoring on the power play. Anaheim answered with a power-play goal by Mikael Granlund in the second period, but Pavel Dorofeyev sealed the victory with two third-period strikes, his eighth and ninth goals of the playoffs over the final four games. Carter Hart made 31 saves for Vegas, while Dostal stopped 16 shots.