Final
ANA at VGK game report
Friday, October 2, 2026 · 7:00 p.m. PT · T-Mobile Arena
Ducks beat the Golden Knights 4–3 despite being out-chanced 3.3–2.1 in expected goals and 10–7 in high-danger chances. Finishing made the difference.
Team comparison
- 3Goals4
- 3.31Expected goals2.13
- 2.045-on-5 expected goals1.88
- 10High-danger chances7
- 30Shots on goal20
- 66Shot attempts47
- 545-on-5 shot attempts41
- 5:21Power-play time3:19
5-on-5 shares for VGK: 56.8% of shot attempts, 52.1% of expected goals.
Expected goals through the game
Each step is a shot; the bigger the step, the better the chance. A goal on a small step was a low-percentage finish.
Shot map
By strength
| VGK at… | Time | Attempts | xG | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 on 5 | 48:01 | 54–41 | 2.04–1.88 | 2–4 |
| Power play | 5:21 | 5–5 | 0.80–0.26 | 1–0 |
| Shorthanded | 3:19 | 0–0 | 0.00–0.00 | 0–0 |
| Other (4 on 4, 3 on 3, empty net) | 3:19 | 7–1 | 0.47–0.00 | 0–0 |
Read pairs as VGK–ANA. “Power play” means VGK had the extra skater.
Goaltending
| Goalie | Saves | SV% | xGA | GSAx |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lukas Dostal ANA | 27/30 | .900 | 3.31 | +0.31 |
| Carter Hart VGK | 16/20 | .800 | 2.13 | -1.87 |
GSAx above zero means the goalie stopped more than an average goalie would have, given the shots faced.
Player ratings
Out of 10, from each player's Game Score (goals, assists, shots, blocks, penalties, faceoffs and 5-on-5 shot and goal differential while on the ice) compared with every NHL game of the last two seasons. 6 is above average, 7 very good, 8 excellent. Goalies are rated on goals saved above expected. ★ = top three of the night. How ratings work
Average ratingGolden Knights6.1Ducks6.0
| ★Top three of the night: Leo CarlssonFANA | 8.4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 17:43 | 58.3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★Top three of the night: Tomas HertlFVGK | 8.0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 17:23 | 70.8 |
| ★Top three of the night: Shea TheodoreDVGK | 7.2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 24:40 | 50.0 |
| Victor OlofssonFVGK | 7.2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13:13 | 65.5 |
| Jack EichelFVGK | 7.1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 22:07 | 40.0 |
| Cutter GauthierFANA | 7.0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 17:51 | 58.3 |
| Brett HowdenFVGK | 6.9 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 14:58 | 50.0 |
| Braeden BowmanFVGK | 6.9 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 12:02 | 60.6 |
| Mitch MarnerFVGK | 6.8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 22:22 | 62.5 |
| Beckett SenneckeFANA | 6.8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 18:04 | 43.5 |
| A.J. GreerFANA | 6.8 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 13:24 | 51.4 |
| Tristan LuneauDANA | 6.8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26:58 | 40.8 |
| Brayden McNabbDVGK | 6.6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17:57 | 50.0 |
| Noah WarrenDANA | 6.6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9:33 | 58.3 |
| Alex KillornFANA | 6.5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 15:14 | 35.0 |
| Tim WasheFANA | 6.5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16:03 | 36.8 |
| Noah HanifinDVGK | 6.3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19:33 | 64.5 |
| Jeremy LauzonDVGK | 6.3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 16:48 | 63.3 |
| Jeff MalottFANA | 6.3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10:39 | 30.0 |
| Pavel MintyukovDANA | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21:10 | 52.5 |
| Lukas DostalGANA | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | — | 60:00 | — |
| Mikael GranlundFANA | 5.7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18:39 | 26.3 |
| Jackson LaCombeDANA | 5.6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 29:37 | 31.7 |
| Trevor ConnellyFVGK | 5.6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10:30 | 62.5 |
| William KarlssonFVGK | 5.6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 20:13 | 58.6 |
| Ivan BarbashevFVGK | 5.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15:05 | 57.1 |
| Nic DowdFVGK | 5.4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8:24 | 66.7 |
| Tyson HindsDANA | 5.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9:15 | 50.0 |
| Mark StoneFVGK | 5.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20:39 | 40.7 |
| Marc GatcombFVGK | 5.1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7:33 | 60.0 |
| Nikita NesterenkoFANA | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11:49 | 40.0 |
| Parker WotherspoonDVGK | 4.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15:39 | 56.3 |
| Ryan PoehlingFANA | 4.9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14:03 | 38.1 |
| Judd CaulfieldFANA | 4.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13:17 | 31.8 |
| Rasmus AnderssonDVGK | 4.8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 19:14 | 54.3 |
| Carter HartGVGK | 4.8 | 0 | 0 | — | 57:40 | — |
| Frank VatranoFANA | 4.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10:34 | 35.3 |
| Travis MitchellDANA | 4.6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20:38 | 40.6 |
Lines used
Each team's most-used forward lines and defence pairs at 5 on 5, from the NHL's shift charts · time together · shot attempts for–against · expected goals for–against
Golden Knights
Forward lines
- Stone – Barbashev – Eichel6:34 · 3–10 · xG 0.0–0.1
- Karlsson – Marner – Howden5:19 · 3–5 · xG 0.1–0.1
- Hertl – Olofsson – Connelly4:54 · 4–4 · xG 0.3–0.4
- Dowd – Gatcomb – Bowman4:08 · 4–3 · xG 0.1–0.1
Defence pairs
- McNabb – Theodore14:34 · 16–14 · xG 0.8–0.6
- Andersson – Wotherspoon13:51 · 18–13 · xG 0.8–0.6
- Hanifin – Lauzon13:44 · 19–10 · xG 0.4–0.4
Ducks
Forward lines
- Greer – Gauthier – Carlsson9:56 · 16–12 · xG 0.6–0.4
- Killorn – Granlund – Sennecke8:56 · 5–10 · xG 0.1–0.1
- Caulfield – Malott – Washe8:52 · 6–11 · xG 0.1–0.4
- Vatrano – Poehling – Nesterenko7:49 · 5–6 · xG 0.4–0.3
Defence pairs
- LaCombe – Luneau19:54 · 12–24 · xG 0.6–0.7
- Mintyukov – Mitchell15:08 · 13–16 · xG 0.5–0.6
- Hinds – Warren6:05 · 4–5 · xG 0.1–0.1
Three stars
- ★L. CarlssonANA · 1G 1A
- ★★S. TheodoreVGK · 1G 0A
- ★★★L. DostalANA · .900 SV%
Scoring
Period 1
- 19:52ANA B. Sennecke (from L. Carlsson, T. Luneau)1–0
Period 2
- 01:33ANA A. Killorn (from N. Warren, M. Granlund)2–0
- 02:28ANA J. Malott (from T. Washe, J. LaCombe)3–0
- 07:03ANA L. Carlsson (from A. Greer, C. Gauthier)4–0
Period 3
- 04:38VGK S. Theodore (from B. Howden, J. Eichel)4–1
- 06:07VGK T. Hertl pp (from M. Marner, J. Eichel)4–2
- 17:10VGK B. Bowman (from V. Olofsson, B. McNabb)4–3