Vegas Golden Knights drop fifth straight, lose to Anaheim Ducks

Danny Webster, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Feb 2, 2026

Published in Hockey

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The Vegas Golden Knights have relied on their ability to rally in games one too many times.

On the second night of a back-to-back, less than 24 hours after they nearly pulled it off at home, they had to do it again after falling in a three-goal hole to the Anaheim Ducks.

Despite cutting the deficit to one late, a slow start plagued the Knights again in a 4-3 loss at Honda Center on Sunday night for their fifth straight loss and seventh in their last eight games.

Mitch Marner and Ivan Barbashev each scored for the third straight game after the Knights trailed 3-0 early in the second period.

The comeback bid ended when Ducks center Ryan Poehling scored into an empty net with 1:07 to go.

Tomas Hertl added a late goal with five seconds remaining, and Adin Hill finished with 19 saves to send the Knights (25-16-14) to their second five-game losing streak of the season.

It’s been the same story for the entirety of this stretch. The Knights gave up the game’s first goal for the eighth time in 10 games.

Not even a whole day after coach Bruce Cassidy urged his team to compete harder in front of the net, they gave up two goals to left wing Chris Kreider — one of the best in the league at scoring near the blue paint.

Kreider got things started by deflecting a puck in the crease at 13:21 of the first to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead.

The Knights struggled with Anaheim’s entry. Poehling got around Ben Hutton after a failed poke check, and Poehling centered it to Kreider standing in the blue paint.

Three Knights players and Hill were around Kreider after he got inside position.

Kreider scored his second in typical Kreider fashion — on a tip in front of a screened Hill — 1:10 into the second to make it 2-0.

Ducks winger Cutter Gauthier added a power-play goal 3:22 later.

Marner got the Knights on the board at 9:47 of the second, and Barbashev cut it to 3-2 at 10:40 of the third.

The Knights, once again, got going after hitting the snooze button one too many times.

It was the fourth time in seven games the Knights have trailed by three goals. They’ve rallied to make it interesting in three of them.

But it’s becoming too commonplace, and the Knights’ standing in the Pacific Division is taking a hit because of it. They’re still in first place two games before the Winter Olympics break, yet first through sixth place is separated by six points.

Knights left wing Jonas Røndbjerg left in the second period after a hit by Anaheim captain Radko Gudas and did not return.

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