Hertl has goal, assist, Golden Knights top Ducks

LAS VEGAS – Tomas Hertl scored the go-ahead goal at 9:36 of the third period for the Vegas Golden Knights in a 3-1 victory against the Anaheim Ducks at T-Mobile Arena on Monday.

Hertl received a pass from Jack Eichel and then backhanded the puck into an open net.

“I like to always be in the front, so I just try to skate to the net,” Hertl said. “I was kind of alone, and Jack made a great play. You know, he's the best player. He makes plays all year round, and he finds me. I just made a move to the backhand because the goalie didn't expect it, and I just finished it. So, I'm really happy for that.”

Hertl and Keegan Kolesar each had a goal and an assist for Vegas (23-8-3), which has won four in a row and eight of its last nine. Adin Hill made 31 saves.

“We're playing good hockey. We're collecting points, so that's good,” Vegas forward William Karlsson said. “Now we got a three-day break, and we've got to stay on the track."

Mason McTavish scored for Anaheim (13-16-4), which was playing the second game of a back-to-back after defeating the Utah Hockey Club 5-4 in a shootout on Sunday.

“Vegas had control for most of the first two periods. I thought we had a lot of life after the first goal. We pressed until the end,” Anaheim coach Greg Cronin said. “It’s unfortunate we gave up the late goal. We didn’t have a chance to tie in with the pulled goalie. I love the effort. I thought we competed hard.”

Anaheim goalie John Gibson came out of the game at 17:32 of the first period after Tanner Laczynski’s stick caught him in the eye. He made 11 saves. Lukas Dostal made 19 saves in relief.

“He was terrific,” Anaheim defenseman Radko Gudas said of Dostal. “He’s always giving us a chance to win.”

Tanner Pearson scored a shorthanded goal at 19:19 of the first period to make it 1-0 after McTavish turned the puck over in his defensive zone.

The Golden Knights were perfect on the penalty kill (4-for-4).

“I feel as a coach, the less time you spend on your end on the PK, however you do that, the more successful you'll be,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Assuming you're not giving up Grade A after Grade A. … If it results in a little bit of offense for us, awesome. If it disrupts their group and they get a little frustrated, that's probably the end goal.”

McTavish tied the game 1-1 at 1:13 of the third period, finishing a Gudas pass on the rush.

“The effort was there. We were battling until the end,” Gudas said. “The boys left everything out there. We gave it our all. Unfortunately, we had some costly mistakes, and they made us pay. They’re an experienced team, and they made us pay for those mistakes we made in the third.”

Kolesar scored at 15:50, one-timing a Karlsson pass at the far post.

“It's been a pleasure to play with him,” Karlsson said of Kolesar. “Very good on the forecheck and low-key fast, too. He gets up there, and you saw that on the last one, so it's been a real treat.”

NOTES: Anaheim forward Brock McGinn left the game at 17:38 of the first period. … Hill became the third goaltender in Golden Knights history with 50 career wins, joining Marc-Andre Fleury (117) and Logan Thompson (56). … Cassidy (119-59-20 in 197 games) surpassed Gerard Gallant (118-75-20 in 213 games) for the most wins by a head coach in Golden Knights history.