On a brisk Sunday evening at Honda Center in Anaheim, the Anaheim Ducks delivered a statement win, edging the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 and completing a season sweep of their Pacific Division rivals. The Ducks, riding a wave of momentum, notched their eighth victory in ten games and continued to climb the standings, now sitting just three points behind both Vegas and the Edmonton Oilers as the division race tightens.
The story of the night belonged to Chris Kreider, whose knack for scoring in high-traffic areas was on full display. Kreider tallied two goals—his first multigoal game for Anaheim since November 6, 2025—helping the Ducks seize an early 3-0 advantage. "Obviously, Chris Kreider has made a living at being at the front of the net. Two big goals from him, and (Poehling) was all over it," Ducks winger Troy Terry remarked, according to the Orange County Register. Kreider’s first goal came late in the opening period, redirecting a centering feed from Ryan Poehling past Vegas goaltender Adin Hill. Just 70 seconds into the second period, Kreider struck again—this time tipping in a point shot from Jacob Trouba after a slick set-up by Terry behind the net.
The Ducks’ offensive surge didn’t stop there. Cutter Gauthier, Anaheim’s breakout star, netted his 24th goal of the campaign on the power play, firing a short-side snipe through a Kreider screen. That marker, which gave Gauthier six more goals than any other Duck this season, put Anaheim up 3-0 less than five minutes into the second frame. The Ducks’ power play has been humming, with Gauthier’s tally marking their fifth man-advantage goal in as many games.
But if Ducks fans thought the game was in the bag, the Golden Knights had other ideas. Vegas, despite their recent struggles, showed the resilience that made them the division’s standard-bearer in recent seasons. Mitch Marner, capitalizing on a fortuitous bounce, got Vegas on the board midway through the second. Mark Stone’s centering pass ricocheted off a pair of Ducks defenders, landing right on Marner’s stick for an easy tap-in. Marner’s goal marked his third consecutive game with a tally, a silver lining in an otherwise difficult stretch for the Knights.
Vegas continued to press in the third period, finally breaking through again when Jack Eichel won a puck battle behind the net and centered to Ivan Barbashev. Ducks goalie Lukáš Dostál made the initial save, but Barbashev buried the rebound, also extending his goal-scoring streak to three games. The Knights’ relentless push kept Ducks fans on the edge of their seats, especially as Anaheim’s early three-goal cushion dwindled to just one.
With the clock winding down and Vegas desperate for the equalizer, Ducks center Ryan Poehling provided what looked to be the insurance goal, scoring into an empty net with just over a minute left. Poehling’s contributions didn’t stop there—he also had an assist on Kreider’s opening goal, capping a strong all-around performance. Yet, the drama wasn’t quite finished. Vegas’ Tomas Hertl made things interesting by scoring with just six seconds remaining, but the Ducks held on as the final horn sounded.
For the Golden Knights, the loss stung for more than just the final score. It marked their fifth consecutive defeat and seventh in their last eight outings, a troubling trend for a team that had been perched atop the Pacific. The Knights have now endured two separate five-game losing streaks since Christmas, with only an 8-2-0 surge sandwiched between them. Coach Bruce Cassidy’s squad has developed a concerning habit of slow starts, having conceded the opening goal in eight of their last ten games. "It’s been the same story for the entirety of this stretch," wrote Danny Webster for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "The Knights gave up the game’s first goal for the eighth time in 10 games."
Adin Hill, tasked with backstopping Vegas, turned aside 19 of 22 shots, while Dostál was busier at the other end, making 28 saves and earning his seventh win in his last eight starts. Dostál’s calm presence in net has been a stabilizing force for Anaheim, especially during their recent hot streak.
Sunday’s contest also featured notable returns for Anaheim. Troy Terry, sidelined with an upper-body injury for the previous eleven games, rejoined the lineup and made an immediate impact, registering two assists. Center Mason McTavish also returned after missing five games, further bolstering the Ducks’ forward depth. The team’s resilience was evident not just in their scoring, but in their ability to weather Vegas’ late-game storm and maintain composure under pressure.
The physicality of the matchup was underscored by a thunderous hip check from Ducks captain Radko Gudas on Vegas’ Jonas Røndbjerg in the second period, an encounter that sent Røndbjerg to the locker room and out of action for the remainder of the game. As the Pacific Division playoff race heats up, these hard-nosed battles could foreshadow even more intense clashes down the stretch.
With this win, Anaheim completed a three-game season sweep of the Golden Knights—a feat the Ducks had never accomplished since Vegas entered the league in 2017. Each game in the series was a nail-biter, with the Ducks taking both previous meetings in overtime by identical 4-3 scores. "They’re a team that we see a lot and they’ve been kind of the standard in our division," Terry said. "I’m super proud of all three games—they were all different—and how we’ve shown up to play that team each time."
The victory also kept the Ducks’ home-ice advantage alive, marking their eighth consecutive sellout as they kicked off a nine-game homestand. Anaheim won’t hit the road again until March 10, giving them a prime opportunity to build on their momentum in front of a raucous home crowd.
Looking ahead, the Golden Knights will try to halt their skid when they host the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday. The Ducks, meanwhile, won’t have much time to celebrate, as they prepare to welcome the Seattle Kraken to Honda Center on Tuesday—a matchup with significant playoff implications given the logjam in the Pacific standings.
As the final buzzer echoed through the Honda Center, the Ducks’ faithful erupted, savoring a win that not only swept a fierce rival but also signaled Anaheim’s emergence as a legitimate contender in the West. With Kreider leading the charge, a healthy roster, and a home-heavy schedule, the Ducks have put the rest of the division on notice. The race for Pacific supremacy is far from over, but Anaheim’s latest triumph has certainly made things a whole lot more interesting.