Defending champ Golden Knights to face top-seeded Stars in playoffs after 4-1 loss to Ducks

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Frank Vatrano scored three goals and the Anaheim Ducks finished their season on a high note, defeating the playoff-bound Vegas Golden Knights 4-1 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 Los Angeles 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 play Edmonton.

“Every team that's left standing is a good hockey team,” said Jack Eichel, who scored the lone Knights goal. “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.”

Vatrano’s goals gave him 37 for the season, a career high. 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 in Anaheim, where he ranks in the top 10 of several 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.”

Eichel's goal was his 31st, his most since scoring 36 in the 2019-20 season for Buffalo. 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.

Anaheim didn’t take its first shot on goal until the 10-minute mark.

“We were asleep in the first 10, 12 minutes,” Ducks coach Greg Cronin said. “We didn’t have our legs. They weren’t moving their feet. They weren’t moving the puck. Vegas was. We were very fortunate we weren’t down 2-0 in the first 10 minutes.”

After a scoreless first period, Vatrano scored at 4:25 of the second 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 Anaheim 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.

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The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate a goal by Jack Eichel, center, against the Anaheim Ducks during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

Anaheim Ducks right wing Cutter Gauthier waits for play to resume during the third period of the team's NHL hockey game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

Anaheim Ducks right wing Frank Vatrano (77) celebrates a goal against the Vegas Golden Knights with teammates Trevor Zegras (11) and Ryan Strome (16) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

Vegas Golden Knights center Tomas Hertl (48) dives for the puck next to Anaheim Ducks right wing Cutter Gauthier (61) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore (27) and Anaheim Ducks center Trevor Zegras (11) vie for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

Chicago Blackhawks center Frank Nazar (91) attempts to steal the puck from Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alec Martinez (23) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, April 16, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Anaheim Ducks center Trevor Zegras (11) skates with the puck between Vegas Golden Knights center Tomas Hertl (48), left wing Pavel Dorofeyev (16) and center Ivan Barbashev (49) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

Anaheim Ducks right wing Jakob Silfverberg (33) shoots the puck against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

LONDON (AP) — Millions of voters in England and Wales will cast their ballots on Thursday in an array of local elections that will be the last big test before a U.K. general election that all indicators show will see the Conservative Party ousted from power after 14 years.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will hope he can point to successes, notably in a couple of key mayoral races, to douse talk that the Conservative Party will change leader again before the United Kingdom's main election, which could take place as soon as next month.

On the other hand, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer will hope Thursday's local elections confirm what opinion polls have shown for two years — that Labour is on course for power for the first time since 2010.

“The national context going into these local elections is very good for Labour and very bad for the Conservatives,” said Rob Ford, professor of politics at the University of Manchester.

As is often the case in British local elections, the run-up is about expectation management, so any outperformance can be painted as a success.

That's certainly the case with the Conservatives, who are widely predicted to lose around half of the 1,000 seats they are contesting. They have pointed out, for example, that the equivalent elections were held in 2021 when the government of then Prime Minister Boris Johnson was riding high following the rollout of the coronavirus vaccines.

Thursday's elections are important in themselves — voters decide who will run many aspects of their daily lives, such as garbage collection, the state of the roads and local crime prevention measures in the coming years.

But with a general election looming, they will be viewed through a national prism.

Here are five things to know:

Voters in England and Wales will go to the polls for local, mayoral, and police and crime commissioner elections.

The voting is the final test of public opinion before the general election, which has to take place by January 2025 but which Sunak, who has the power to decide on the date, has indicated will be in the second half of 2024.

As well as a number of mayoral votes, including in London where Sadiq Khan is expected to win a third term, there are more than 100 elections to local councils and nearly 40 for local police and crime commissioners.

There's also a special parliamentary election in Blackpool South, a long-time Labour seat that went Conservative in the last election in 2019, when Johnson won a big victory. The results will be announced in coming days. London's mayoral result isn't due until Saturday.

No elections are taking place in Scotland or Northern Ireland, the other constituent nations of the U.K.

Potentially his job. Sunak replaced Liz Truss, who quit after 45 days following a budget of unfunded tax cuts that roiled financial markets and sent borrowing costs for homeowners surging.

Sunak, who warned about the economic implications of Truss' plan, was supposed to be a steady hand after taking the top job in October 2022. If opinion polls are right, he's not improved the Conservatives' ratings, which had even prior to Truss, been battered by the circus surrounding Johnson, who was ousted over a series of ethics scandals.

With the Conservatives seemingly headed for one of their biggest-ever electoral defeats, there's mounting speculation Sunak may face a leadership battle if Thursday's elections are really bad.

Key to his survival could be the mayoral elections in the West Midlands and Tees Valley in the northeast of England. Should Conservative mayors Andy Street and Ben Houchen hold on, he may win some respite from restive lawmakers in his party. Should both lose, he may face trouble.

In historical terms, Labour has a mountain to climb if it's going to form the next government.

It's performance in 2019 was its worst since 1935. Starmer has tried to bring the party back to the center of British politics after the five-year leadership of veteran left-winger Jeremy Corbyn.

Starmer's cautious approach has clearly worked if opinion polls are anything to go by. But it's fair to say that enthusiasm levels are far lower than those that heralded the arrival of Tony Blair ahead of the 1997 general election.

That may be partly due to the more challenging economic backdrop, but Starmer, formerly a human rights lawyer, lacks the razzmatazz of his predecessor. Even so, Starmer will hope Labour notches up big wins in areas it lost under Corbyn, in the north of England and in the Midlands.

One point of concern is how many traditionally Labour supporters in Muslim communities fail to vote in protest at the party's stance over the conflict in Gaza.

One of the contributing factors to Blair's landslide victory in 1997 came from so-called tactical voting, whereby some voters put aside their preferred political party and back whoever they think is most likely to defeat the Conservative candidate.

Tactical voting has reemerged in recent years and could become key in the general election. It usually involves voters sympathetic to Labour in parts of the country, such as southwest England, backing the much-smaller Liberal Democrats and Liberal Democrat supporters loaning votes to Labour in the Midlands and the north of England.

Conservative lawmakers across the U.K., even in supposedly safe seats, will be hugely concerned if voters think more tactically.

The Conservatives don't just face a challenge from the left. Reform UK is trying to outflank it from the right.

Though it is standing in a few seats, Conservatives will worry that support for the party will see Labour and others come through the middle.

Reform UK, which claims to be tougher on issues such as immigration and on Brexit, has said it won't stand aside to give incumbent Conservative lawmakers an easier chance at the general election, as its former incarnation, The Brexit Party, did in 2019. The Blackpool South special election will be particularly interesting on that front.

London Mayoral Labour Party candidate Sadiq Khan and his wife Saadiya Ahmed pose for the media as they arrive to vote in London, Thursday, May 2, 2024. Khan, is seeking re-election, and standing against 12 other candidates for the post of Mayor of London. There are other Mayoral elections in English cities and as well as local council elections. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

London Mayoral Labour Party candidate Sadiq Khan and his wife Saadiya Ahmed with their dog Luna, pose for the media as they arrive to vote in London, Thursday, May 2, 2024. Khan, is seeking re-election, and standing against 12 other candidates for the post of Mayor of London. There are other Mayoral elections in English cities and as well as local council elections. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

London Mayoral Labour Party candidate Sadiq Khan pats his dog Luna as they pose for the media he arrives to vote in London, Thursday, May 2, 2024. Khan, is seeking re-election, and standing against 12 other candidates for the post of Mayor of London. There are other Mayoral elections in English cities and as well as local council elections. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

London Mayoral Labour Party candidate Sadiq Khan and his wife Saadiya Ahmed with their dog Luna pose for the media as they arrive to vote in London, Thursday, May 2, 2024. Khan, is seeking re-election, and standing against 12 other candidates for the post of Mayor of London. There are other Mayoral elections in English cities and as well as local council elections. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Polling station officials put out a sign as it opens for people to vote in London, Thursday, May 2, 2024. London Mayor Sadiq Khan, is seeking re-election, and standing against 12 other candidates for the post of Mayor of London. There are other Mayoral elections in English cities and as well as local council elections. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

London Mayoral Labour Party candidate Sadiq Khan and his wife Saadiya Ahmed pose for the media as they arrive to vote in London, Thursday, May 2, 2024. Khan, is seeking re-election, and standing against 12 other candidates for the post of Mayor of London. There are other Mayoral elections in English cities and as well as local council elections. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

A voter waits with his dog outside a polling station as it opens for people to vote in London, Thursday, May 2, 2024. London Mayor Sadiq Khan, is seeking re-election, and standing against 12 other candidates for the post of Mayor of London. There are other Mayoral elections in English cities and as well as local council elections. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

London Mayoral Labour Party candidate Sadiq Khan and his wife Saadiya Ahmed pose for the media as they arrive to vote in London, Thursday, May 2, 2024. Khan, is seeking re-election, and standing against 12 other candidates for the post of Mayor of London. There are other Mayoral elections in English cities and as well as local council elections. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Voters leave a polling station at St Alban's Church, south London, after casting their votes in the local and London Mayoral election Thursday, May 2, 2024. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

FILE - In this Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019 file photo, a polling station signpost lies on the pavement, in Twickenham, England. Millions of voters in England and Wales will cast their ballots in an array of local elections. The voting on Thursday will be the last big test before a U.K. general election that all indicators show will see the Conservative Party ousted from power after 14 years. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)