The Anaheim Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights entered Game 5 with a 2-2 series tie after the teams split the first four games, with each team winning one home game and one road game.
The Ducks had a better approach in Game 4 after going down early in Game 3 and never being able to properly recover. They scored first and, despite the Golden Knights tying the game twice, never relinquished the lead the entire game. Their power play also broke through in Game 4 after going 0-for-11 through the first three games of the series.
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Takeaways from the Ducks’ 4-3 Win over the Golden Knights, Series Tied 2-2
2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Round 2, Game 5 – Ducks vs. Golden Knights Gameday Preview (05/12/26)
Golden Knights head coach John Tortorella said after Game 4 that he felt his team took too many penalties (they took four minor penalties). The Ducks have had 15 power play opportunities compared to the Golden Knights’ 12 power play opportunities through four games. The Ducks have scored twice on the power play this series (both in Game 4) while the Golden Knights have scored thrice.
Mason McTavish, Olen Zellweger and Ian Moore were inserted into the Game 4 lineup in favor of Jansen Harkins and Tyson Hinds, who were healthy scratches, and Drew Helleson, who missed Game 4 with an undisclosed injury. Captain Radko Gudas was a game-time decision for Game 4, but did not play. He was ruled out for Game 5 by head coach Joel Quenneville following Tuesday’s morning skate.
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Here’s how the Ducks lined up to start Game 5:
Kreider-Carlsson-Terry
Killorn-Granlund-Sennecke
McTavish-Poehling-Gauthier
Johnston-Washe-Viel
LaCombe-Trouba
Mintyukov-Carlson
Zellweger-Moore
Lukáš Dostál and Carter Hart faced one another for the fifth consecutive game, unsurprisingly. Dostál stopped 29 of 32 shots in the game, while Hart stopped 34 of 36 shots in the game.
Ryan Poehling suffered an injury nine minutes into the game due to a hit from Brayden McNabb, who was assessed a five-minute major for interference and a game misconduct. Poehling did not return to the game.
A helter-skelter first period led to several scoring chances off the rush for both teams. Both Dostál and Hart gave up a couple of big rebounds, which neither team was able to capitalize on in the first. Despite being on the penalty kill for five minutes, the Golden Knights generated more chances at 5v5 in the first.
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Game 5 featured more low-event hockey (for the most part), but featured plenty of chances off the rush for both teams. The Golden Knights began to take control once they gained the lead in the third, with the Ducks struggling to negate their cycle at times. Both teams made the most of their power play opportunities in a game that didn’t feature many penalties.
Physicality continues to play a big role as this series progresses, with plenty of post-whistle scrums. Both teams are trying to play as close to the edge as they can without taking penalties.
Mason McTavish/Cutter Gauthier-While McTavish and Gauthier lost their linemate early in the game, they continued to build off their Game 4 performance and created chances alongside whoever their pivot was. While usually more of a goalscorer, Gauthier has been utilizing his vision more in the last couple of games to find teammates in good scoring positions.
McTavish found himself in prime scoring positions by simply being around the slot and the crease, the beneficiary of Gauthier’s playmaking. His presence around Hart caused several rebounds to pop out in front of the crease, leading to several scoring opportunities. Both McTavish and Gauthier’s vision and passing were vital in setting up Zellweger’s game-tying goal in the third period.
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Chris Kreider/Troy Terry-Terry has missed almost every morning skate since mid-March as he continues to manage his workload, surely due to a lingering injury. He’s giving it his all, but it’s beginning to show a bit more as this series has progressed, as he is beginning to overhandle the puck and appears to have a lack of jump in his skating.
Similarly, Kreider has not impacted the game on a consistent basis and was guilty of not getting the puck out of the defensive zone on Vegas’ first goal. Both he and Terry were unable to get the puck out in overtime, which eventually led to Dorofeyev’s game-winning goal. With Poehling likely out for Game 6, Quenneville will have to shuffle the lines around, which may lead to one or both of Kreider and Terry coming off the top line.
Fourth line-Quenneville seems intent on matching his fourth line against Mitch Marner’s line, much like he did in the Oilers series to slow down Connor McDavid. While that may have worked to an extent, it’s not quite having the same effects with Ross Johnston on that line instead of Ian Moore. The lack of foot speed on that line has been noticeable in defensive coverage, as they are a bit slow to get out and take away the perimeter at times.
Lukáš Dostál-It was a mostly solid night from Dostál, who kept the Ducks in the game for most of it and had some big saves down the stretch. His rebound control was a bit shoddy on Vegas’ second goal, but Ian Moore was more at fault for not tying up Tomáš Hertl and icing the puck on the previous play. Dostál can’t be faulted for either of Pavel Dorofeyev’s goals, with the first being an absolute snipe and the second a baseball whack into the top part of the net. If not for Dostál, Vegas likely would have scored more than three goals.
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Olen Zellweger-Zellweger didn’t get a ton of ice time in his playoff debut in Game 4, but picked up a point on Moore’s game-winning goal. He looked more engaged in this one, choosing the right times to activate offensively and creating effective breakouts with his skating. He received more ice time down the stretch for his efforts. More activation from the defensemen is something that Quenneville wanted going into Game 4, which Zellweger provided in both Games 4 and 5.
The series now returns to Anaheim, with the Golden Knights holding a 3-2 lead and a chance to end the series in six games. Game 6 will be Thursday, May 14 at 6:30 p.m. PT at Honda Center.
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