The Golden Knights lead their best-of-7 series against the Mammoth 3-2 entering Game 6 at Utah on Friday (10 p.m. ET; Utah16, SCRIPPS, ESPN, TVAS2, SN360, SN).
"We've got a taste of playoff hockey," Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said. "Now, we get to experience another round, and I think this is healthy for us. We've got a young group that's still … you don't know how they're going to play, but you're certainly excited about what the upside is."
The Ducks, the No. 3 seed in the Pacific Division, would have home-ice advantage in the best-of-7 series against the Mammoth, the first wild card in the West, but would open on the road against the Golden Knights, the No. 1 seed in the Pacific.
Anaheim has never played Vegas or Utah in the playoffs.
"Every game, every series has a new challenge, and from that all kinds of different variations that happen in the course of the first game to the next game to the next game," Quenneville said. "We've got four lines deep and six to eight defensemen ready to play. All the options are available. We'll see how our opponent stacks up and look to see (the Utah-Vegas Game 6), and we'll see what happens in the next one or two games."
Defenseman Jackson LaCombe led the Ducks in the first round with nine points (one goal, eight assists). Forwards Troy Terry (three goals, five assists) and Leo Carlsson (three goals, five assists) each had eight points.
“We know which two teams it's between. We know them well. It's going to be a fun series either way," Carlsson said
Goalie Lukas Dostal was 4-2 with a 3.87 goals-against average and .874 save percentage in the first round. Ville Husso stopped 10 of 11 shots he faced after Dostal was pulled in the first period of Game 5.
The Ducks were 2-1-0 against the Mammoth in the regular season. Alex Killorn had five points (one goal, four assists), and six other players scored one goal each, including forward Ryan Poehling and Cutter Gauthier, who each had a goal and an assist.
Dostal was 2-0-0, allowing three goals on 48 shots in two games (1.50 GAA, .938 save percentage), and Husso allowed four goals on 21 shots before getting pulled in his only start, a 7-0 loss on Dec. 3.
Forward JJ Peterka led the Mammoth against the Ducks in the regular season with five points (two goals, three assists), and forward Dylan Guenther had four points (three goals, one assist). Forwards Clayton Keller (one goal, two assists) and Nick Schmaltz (three assists) each had three points.
Goalie Karel Vejmelka was 1-0-1 with a 1.48 GAA, .943 save percentage and one shutout in two games. He made 27 saves in the 7-0 win on Dec. 3. Vitek Vanecek was 0-1-0 with a 2.03 GAA and .909 save percentage.
The Ducks were 3-0-0 against the Golden Knights this season. Defenseman Jacob Trouba and Terry each had five points (one goal, four assists) to lead the Ducks against the Golden Knights. Forward Chris Kreider, Gauthier and Carlsson each scored two goals.
Dostal was 2-0-0 with a 2.90 GAA and .905 save percentage, and Petr Mrazek, who had season-ending hip surgery in February, allowed three goals on 39 shots in a 4-3 overtime win on Nov. 8. Husso did not face the Golden Knights this season.
For the Golden Knights, forward Jack Eichel had four assists against the Ducks, and forward Ivan Barbashev had three points (one goal, two assists). Forward Tomas Hertl scored two goals.
Akira Schmid was 0-0-2 with a 3.75 GAA and .871 save percentage, and Adin Hill was 0-1-0 with a 3.08 GAA and .864 save percentage. Carter Hart, who has started all five playoff games for Vegas, did not face the Ducks in the regular season.
