Frank Vatrano’s hat trick leads Ducks past Golden Knights in season finale – Daily News

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By MARK ANDERSON AP Sports Writer

LAS VEGAS — The Ducks’ season finale included a debut, a farewell and another big scoring night for Frank Vatrano.

Vatrano scored three goals and the Ducks ended their season on a high note, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights, 4-1, on Thursday night.

Vegas’ three-game winning streak ended and the loss knocked the Golden Knights out of third place in the Pacific Division and into the second Western Conference wild card when the Kings earned a point by getting to overtime against Chicago. The defending Stanley Cup champions will face top seed Dallas in the first round beginning Monday night, while the Kings will face Edmonton.

Vatrano’s goals gave him a career-high 37 for the season. It was his third hat trick this season and the sixth of his career.

Jackson LaCombe had a goal and an assist for the Ducks, who finished 27-50-5 for 59 points. Ryan Strome had two assists and Lukas Dostal made 29 saves.

Cutter Gauthier had an assist in his first career game. Just five days earlier, he was playing in the NCAA championship game at the Frozen Four for Boston College.

“It feels incredible,” Gauthier said of his primary assist on LaCombe’s goal. “I heard Comber calling for it there and I passed it to him. I saw it trickle in there and just very excited, pure joy. It’s something you dream of as a kid.”

Ducks forward Jakob Silfverberg, who played his final NHL game after 12 seasons in the league, was congratulated by his teammates and then shook hands with Golden Knights players after the game. Eleven of his seasons came with the Ducks, and he ranks in the top 10 of several of their franchise categories.

“I enjoyed my time here a lot, not just me but my family,” Silfverberg said. “It’s been 11 amazing years. It’s definitely a team I’ll be rooting for and I’ll follow them closely.”

Jack Eichel scored the Knights’ lone goal. It was his 31st, his most since scoring 36 in the 2019-20 season for Buffalo. Adin Hill made 19 stops for Vegas, which shook off the drop in playoff position.

“Every team that’s left standing is a good hockey team,” Eichel said. “There’s no easy path to winning. We understand every game’s going to be a battle. I think we should be pretty excited. It’s a great opportunity for our team.”

William Karlsson’s second-period assist for Vegas gave him 60 points this season, the second time he’s reached the mark. He had 78 points in the 2017-18 season.

Karlsson remains the club’s single-season goals leader at 43, with Jonathan Marchessault coming one short despite 13 shots against the Ducks, including seven on goal. Marchessault scored only one goal in his final seven games.

The Knights made a concerted effort to get Marchessault the record, sometimes feeding him the puck when there were better options. He had nine shots in the first period alone, four on goal to match the Ducks’ first-period total. Four other shots were blocked and one missed the net.

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