Ducks have 'a lot of aspirations' entering Game 5 against Golden Knights

LAS VEGAS -- From the outside, it might seem like the Anaheim Ducks already have exceeded their own expectations in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

On the inside, however, Anaheim always had high hopes for success in its first postseason appearance in eight years.

“I think we’re playing with house money in the media,” forward Troy Terry said on Monday. “We played a team in the first round (the Edmonton Oilers) that especially, you could see the pressure that they were under. I don’t necessarily think we have that. I think we’re surprising a lot of people externally, but internally, I think we’ve proved all season our best was up at the top of the League.”

Anaheim has an opportunity to take control of its Western Conference Second Round series against the Vegas Golden Knights with a win in Game 5 here on Tuesday (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN360, SN, TVAS). The Ducks tied the best-of-7 series 2-2 with a 4-3 win in Game 4 at home Sunday. 

Game 6 will be in Anaheim on Thursday. 

“We have high expectations,” Terry said. “Internally our aspirations are high right now and we’re focused on tomorrow and a big game tomorrow, and just not taking these situations for granted. Coming from me, you never know when you’ll be back to try and win a best-of-3 to try and get to a conference final.”

Terry is one of 15 Anaheim players taking part in his first NHL postseason. The 28-year-old, who is in his ninth season — all with the Ducks — and has gone through a lengthy rebuild, has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 10 playoff games. 

“We knew that if we were playing our best we can make an impact in the playoffs, and I think pretty much from that first game of the playoffs, it felt like we were in it,” Terry said. “Internally, we do have pretty high expectations for us. Maybe they’ve changed a little just since we’ve been in the playoffs, the games and the level of play we’ve been (at) as a team, and what we’re expecting tomorrow night and every game now is just a good brand of hockey, and we do have a lot of aspirations.”

Anaheim, the No. 3 seed from the Pacific Division, qualified for the playoffs for the first time since the 2017-18 season and upset Edmonton, the No. 2 seed in the Pacific, in the first round. The Ducks lost the opening game of that series, stormed back to win the next three and closed out the 2024 and 2025 Western Conference champions in six games. 

The Ducks also lost Game 1 against the Golden Knights and have tied the series twice, including the victory Sunday that kept them from facing elimination Tuesday. 

“It probably was the first time when it was that we really had our backs against the wall,” Terry said. “No matter what the situation has been, I loved how we responded. I thought we did that for the most part in the regular season.”

Anaheim played one of its most complete games of the series in Game 4 and is looking for a similar effort in Las Vegas. The Ducks went 2-for-4 on the power play on Sunday after going 0-for-11 through the first three games of the series. 

“I thought we responded pretty well, we came out hard,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “I thought both teams had their turns and it was a very competitive game. Our younger guys are fine. They don’t get distracted in the hype or excitement of it all.”

It’s not all just playoff rookies on the Anaheim roster. The Ducks do have some veterans they can turn to when things get tense. 

Forward Alex Killorn scored on the power play to give Anaheim a 3-2 lead at 17:58 of the second period in Game 4. He won the Stanley Cup twice with the Tampa Bay Lightning (2020, 2021) and has 150 games of postseason experience.

Defenseman John Carlson won the Cup with the Washington Capitals in 2018, forward Chris Kreider played in the 2014 Stanley Cup Final with the New York Rangers, and defenseman Radko Gudas, the Ducks captain, played in the 2023 Cup Final with the Florida Panthers. 

Gudas has not played since the opening game of the playoffs because of a lower-body injury but is nearing a return, Quenneville said. 

“We’ve got some guys that have played in many big games and I think that helps,” Quenneville said. “What they say, how they carry themselves, what they do in games, on the bench, between periods, it’s priceless and it’s the best message other players can see and receive.”

Responding to adversity is something Anaheim did all season.

There was a time when it looked like the Ducks would fall out of the playoff race, but they managed to put it all together and finish third in the Pacific. Now, they are two wins away from being the last team standing in the division. 

“We went through challenges throughout the season,” goalie Lukas Dostal said. “Sometimes we were on a run, sometimes we went on losing streaks. We had our backs against the wall throughout the year and that’s what happens in such a long season, and ultimately, it’s still one game and it’s still a series that is best of seven. 

“Definitely (winning Game 4) is going to help the confidence, help the momentum, but now it’s 2-2 and tomorrow is going to be another important game.”