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

Vatrano finishes with a career-high 37 goals as the Ducks end another disappointing season on a high note, a 4-1 win that dropped the playoff-bound Golden Knights out of third place in the Pacific Division and into the second wild-card slot.

By MARK ANDERSON AP Sports Writer

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

The loss knocked the Knights – whose three-game winning streak ended – out of third place in the Pacific Division and into the second Western Conference wild card. Vegas was leapfrogged by the Kings, who rallied to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks, 5-4 in overtime.

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.

Ducks forward Jakob Silfverberg, who played his final NHL game after 12 seasons in the league, shook hands with Golden Knights players after the game.

Jack Eichel scored his 31st goal for the Knights, and Adin Hill made 19 stops.

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.

After a scoreless first period in which the Ducks didn’t take its first shot on goal until the 10-minute mark, both teams traded power-play goals in the second. Vatrano scored at 4:25 and Eichel at 18:47. That was Vegas’ ninth power-play goal this month, tying Calgary for most in the NHL.

LaCombe and Vatrano scored 29 seconds apart early in the third period to give the Ducks the lead for good. Vatrano’s final goal came with 15 seconds left on an empty-netter with the Knights on a 6-on-4 power play.

Ducks defenseman William Lagesson skated in his 100th career game.

More to come on this story.