PREVIEW: Ducks Face a Must-Win in Game 6 Tonight at Honda Center

The Ducks (2-3) welcome the Golden Knights (3-2) back to Honda Center in a critical Game 6 of Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Puck drop is set for 6:30 p.m. PT and will air nationally on TNT.

Anaheim is eager to get back on the ice after narrowly falling to Vegas, 3-2, in overtime on Tuesday. Mason McTavish and Cutter Gauthier each had two assists on the night while Olen Zellweger scored the game-tying goal late in the third period to force the extra frame.

Head coach Joel Quenneville commended Zellweger for his compete level, as he didn’t get discouraged from missing the first nine games of the postseason as a healthy scratch.

“He bided his time, he worked his tail off getting himself not just conditionally ready for it, but mentally,” head coach Joel Quenneville said of Zellweger. “That was the thing that we were all appreciative of, how he approached it and prepared himself to be a part of it and contribute in a meaningful way. And he did more than we were expecting."

Per Quenneville, Ryan Poehling (upper-body) is out tonight as the head coach said he’s not sure “how long it’s going to be” after Poehling was knocked out of Game 5 following a vicious hit away from the play by Brayden McNabb. The Ducks were awarded a five-minute major (and scored the game's first goal) and yesterday McNabb was suspended one game and will miss tonight’s contest.

While other teams could be defeated by the ending to Tuesday’s game, the Ducks are choosing to confront the loss head on. Quenneville said now’s not the time to be making big changes since “one bounce went to [Vegas]” and knowing tonight is a win-or-go-home scenario.

The Comeback Quacks spent much of the regular season crawling back from being down. While the tenor of a series is different, the team hasn’t lost two games in a row in the playoffs and Ducks players said they’re looking forward to giving it their all in hopes of extending Round 2 to seven games.

“It’s a new day,” John Carlson said. “We have to attack what’s ahead of us and I think we all feel confident that we can win two games.

"We’ve never thrown in the towel once this whole year and I think we’ve shown that resiliency in our game, in our series. I think that’s what you draw from and have that positivity going into a big game on home ice, and that will present some great things for us.”

Added McTavish, “I’m pretty excited to see what we all got. I know it’s our first time with our backs against the wall, and I’m excited for us to kind of show everybody what we got. I expect a lot of confidence, and it’ll be a great game Thursday. I think everybody’s pretty excited in here to show them what we’ve got.”