- Poehling said the Knights aren’t built like Edmonton, where the speed never lets up
- Anaheim won 3-1 at T-Mobile Arena to tie the second round series at one game apiece
- Read below for Poehling’s full quote, the video, and what’s next for Anaheim
Ryan Poehling didn’t roast the Vegas Golden Knights. He just drew a comparison.
The Anaheim center was asked Wednesday night about how Vegas matches up with Edmonton, the team Anaheim took out in Round 1. His answer didn’t come with much sugarcoating, per NHL.com:
“It’s not like Edmonton where it’s fast, fast, fast. We know they’re physical. We can play that game. But I think the way to beat them is just outpacing them.”
Poehling kept rolling.
“It’s not just with speed. It’s how we play, you know, right up. Guys are supporting one another, and you saw it tonight. When we get in that rhythm and take quick shifts, it’s a hard team to play against.”
The Ducks lived that quote in Game 2. They smothered Vegas for 59 minutes and 54 seconds and grabbed a 3-1 win at T-Mobile Arena to even the series at a game apiece.
Here are the full Game 2 highlights:
Beckett Sennecke opened the scoring midway through the second period. Leo Carlsson chipped in a Troy Terry backhand pass early in the third, and Jansen Harkins iced it with an empty-netter at 16:30:
Lukas Dostal was 5.6 seconds from his first career playoff shutout before Mark Stone broke through on a power play to spoil the bid.
Joel Quenneville called it one of his team’s best defensive performances of the season. That’s a sentence that wouldn’t have made sense most of the year. Anaheim allowed 3.51 goals per game in the regular season, the worst mark among playoff teams.
The coach also got some help from a late lineup tweak before puck drop:
Vegas head coach John Tortorella didn’t sound shaken postgame.
“They split here. We’ve got to go in and try to get a game out of there. We’re going to keep our composure, get about our business.”
Game 3 is at Honda Center on Friday at 9:30 p.m. ET on TNT. After knocking off Edmonton in six games for their first playoff series win since 2017, the Ducks now have a real shot to grab a series lead in front of their own crowd.
