The Ducks (3-2) return to Honda Center for Game 6 and the chance to close out the series against the Oilers (2-3).
Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. PT and will air locally on KCOP-13 and Victory+. The game is also nationally televised on TNT.
After winning three-straight, Anaheim dropped Tuesday’s matchup in Edmonton, falling to the Oilers, 4-1. The Ducks gave up three goals in the first period to go down 3-0. Lukas Dostal was replaced by Ville Husso who had 10 saves out of the 11 shots on goal. While Alex Killorn netted the Ducks’ only score in the second, the team couldn’t muster and offensive answer to claw back in the third period.
“We knew they were going to come out with a big push,” Cutter Gauthier said. “Obviously, their season was on the line and they’re going to have that desperation going into it. It was a slow start from our group but I'm confident we know what to expect going into tonight’s game.”
“They have a ton of experience,” Alex Killorn said of the Oilers. “They went to the Cup finals the past two years. That experience is valuable. In a lot of series, they’ve been down. They never give up. But if you told us we can go home for Game 6 and end the series, I think that’s a great position that we’re in. So, we look at it that way.”
Despite the loss, the Ducks are using it as a learning experience, noting being able to compartmentalize Tuesday’s loss and move on to tonight is how they’re looking to regroup and shift their focus.
While this is Game 6, knowing a win gets you in to the next round adds an extra intensity and lucky for the Ducks, they get to do it in front of their home crowd.
“I think as you go along in the series, you can get your team excited by thinking, ‘We gotta win this game, it’s the most important game of the year,’ but they just keep growing,” head coach Joel Quenneville said. “I think everybody handles it different. But I think at the same time as a team, being in it last game and going through it, I think we got a good lesson that we expect our opponent to be more than ready so let’s meet that head on.”
“We welcome that challenge and it’s going to be fun to play a game where all game long you’re going to get pushed and challenged. You can control your destiny by doing things the right way and trying to move on. It’ll be a good test for everyone, they got a little bit of exposure going into a game and seeing what it feels like with a chance to win.”
As for injury updates and lineup changes, Radko Gudas (lower-body) remains out while Lukas Dostal will return to the net for Anaheim looking to rebound from Game 5’s loss.
