Missed Ducks chances elevate icing non-call to Game 1 flashpoint in Vegas

LAS VEGAS – Game 1 was a contest of fine margins, and it was the finest of them that served as the flashpoint to open this second-round series.

One minute after Mikael Granlund’s game-tying goal, an icing was waved off on a potentially 50-50 play in the Anaheim Ducks end, which sent coach Joel Quenneville into a frenzy on the bench. The Vegas Golden Knights jumped into the lull of play to capitalize a back-door play to Ivan Barbashev for the go-ahead goal with five minutes to play in a 3-1 victory on Monday at T-Mobile Arena.

Anaheim will get its shot to capitalize on an otherwise strong opening performance and even the series in Game 2 on Wednesday back here on the Vegas Strip.

"We're fortunate that we found a way to win," Vegas coach John Tortorella said. "They played well, but we have some things to work on… It’s a ‘dind a way’ league and we found a way to win."

With 6:03 remaining in the game, Jackson LaCombe made up for an earlier open-net whiff by driving to the net and setting up Granlund’s own open-cage chance to tie the game, 1-1.

Anaheim had dominated in possession time and earned the advantages on the shot clock (34-22), shot attempt share (55.68%) and expected goal share (67%), but a singular elite play by Mitch Marner set up Vegas’ opening goal by Brett Howden in the second period.

LaCombe’s play-creation felt like a just result for himself and for the Ducks’ overall game.

“I thought we did a great job,” LaCombe said. “I think our pace was good. We're making plays. We were kind of playing to our game, which was great. We just got to clean up those two mistakes there, and we will be good.”

The first came on that second-period strike in opening the lane for Marner to create.

The second came less than a minute after Granlund’s game-tying goal.

Ivan Barbashev flipped a high puck diagonally from left wing of the Vegas side of the center red line, and LaCombe was the last man back between Jack Eichel and the puck. Eichel never got fully around LaCombe, but as the puck went to the corner and the players hit the hashmarks, the linesman had yet to make a call.

"I just tried to put the puck deep. I saw Jack on the far side going through," Barbashev said. "I thought for a second he beat him, and that's why they waved it off."

On icing plays, the linesman is to make the call when the player or players chasing the puck hit the hashmarks of the face-off circle. This was changed several years ago to curtail dangerous races into the boards, which had led to injuries.

The linesman made his call a beat after LaCombe and Eichel crossed that threshold, and the call–despite neither player having a chance to reach the puck before it crossed the final red line and both players seemingly letting up at the moment of truth–was no icing.

Quenneville then exploded on the officials from the Ducks bench while play continued.

“Clearly, I disagree with the call, and it was clearly icing,” Quenneville said. “Their guy stopped skating, which really made me annoyed.”

"I didn’t even see it. I was blocked," Tortorella said.

What followed made the call into a series-opening flashpoint, as LaCombe tapped the puck up the wall and Pavel Dorofeyev jumped on the soft clear.

“As soon as I heard him wave it off, I just made a mistake,” LaCombe said. “I made a soft play at the wall, and I just, I can't do that, it's not a good play.”

Dorofeyev then split LaCombe and Leo Carlsson coming off the wall and hit Barbashev for the back-door goal–Vegas’ second of the game–and the go-ahead marker.

In a game where the Ducks weren’t capitalizing on their own chances and had finally broken through, it’s a small call that becomes a stand out.

“We just scored. It was a huge call and it was an easy call,” Quenneville said.

It’s a call that gets magnified because of how strong the Ducks played without much else to show for it.

In many ways, it was extremely similar to Anaheim’s first playoff effort in Edmonton, where after a eye-opening first period, the Ducks took it to the Oilers and proved they were able to skate with their renowned opposition and may even be the better team.

“There's a lot of emotions right now,” Terry said. “Kind of a hard one to swallow. We can feel we deserve better or whatever. That's why they've been so far in the playoffs as many years, they're hard to beat in those close games. But leaving the game, similar feelings (to Game 1 in Edmonton). I think we feel good about this group. We feel good about how we match up with them. I thought we used our speed all night. Honestly, I thought we made it hard on them and I like how we played.”

Terry said there were three or four plays he’d be kicking himself over tonight, as the Ducks couldn’t get any more past the 33 saves of Carter Hart to support a smaller but stellar 19 saves from Lukas Dostal.

However, the biggest “kicking himself” play of the night went back to LaCombe in the second period.

Carlsson made a dazzling play to find space in the zone and spun a pass to LaCombe, who had a wide open cage to look at. However, LaCombe immediately passed it to an unaware Terry in front, and the pass glanced off the stick and out of the zone.

“I thought Hart kind of slid over, and as soon as I fully turned my head around, he wasn't there, and I already kind of made the decision to pass,” LaCombe said. “It was just a stupid mistake. Yeah, I want that one back.”

Plays like the non-call or the passed-up shot become magnified in a game where Anaheim didn’t capitalize in the areas it should.

After being red hot on the power play against Edmonton, where the Ducks converted eight of 16 opportunities with a power play goal in all six games, Anaheim with 0-for-4 with the extra man with five shots generated.

As previously mentioned, the Ducks also outchanced Vegas all over the ice at five-on-five.

The fine margins were elevated in Game 1, but it’s still a performance Anaheim can ride with confidence into Game 2.

“I thought the pace that we played at tonight, if we can play like that for the length of this series, I think we should put ourselves in a good spot,” Terry said. “They're a good team. They going to make adjustments. We're going to make adjustments. This group's excited for Game 2 already.”