The Vegas Golden Knights advanced to the Western Conference Finals after completing a 5-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night. The Golden Knights needed six games to dispatch their Pacific Division rivals, and delivered the final blow at Anaheim’s Honda Center.
As is hockey tradition, the two teams lined up to shake each other’s hands after battling tooth and nail against one another for the better part of two weeks. In the handshake lines were two players who were teammates with the Washington Capitals for the last eight years: Anaheim’s John Carlson and Vegas’ Nic Dowd.
The two former Capitals stalwarts shared an embrace as foes for the first time since each was traded out of Washington at the trade deadline last March.
Carlson wraps up his stint in the postseason for the Ducks, recording six assists in 12 games. He is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, but there have been reports that he has begun exploratory talks about an extension to stay in Anaheim.
The 36-year-old rearguard has not been to a Conference Final series since the Capitals’ Stanley Cup victory in 2018. The Ducks not advancing to this year’s Western Conference Final benefited the Caps, as they own Anaheim’s first-round pick this year from the Carlson trade.
Dowd moves on past the second round of the playoffs for the first time in his career. The 35-year-old center is playing a shutdown, fourth-line role for head coach John Tortorella and has chipped in two goals through 12 playoff games this year.
The Golden Knights will take on the dominant Colorado Avalanche in the next round after the Avalanche took out the Minnesota Wild in five games earlier this week. The first game of the series is set for Wednesday, May 20.
