Ducks turn on the power in 6-game series win against Oilers

ANAHEIM -- Behind every prolific power play is often a fruitful plan, and the Anaheim Ducks displayed it well during the Western Conference First Round.

After finishing 23rd in the NHL on the power play during the regular season (18.6 percent), the Ducks flipped the script against the Edmonton Oilers and went 8-for-16 with the man-advantage, helping them win the best-of-7 series against the two-time defending Western Conference champions in six games.

"We certainly got some confidence from our power play in the playoffs, and winning the series," Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said after the series-clinching 5-2 win in Game 6 on Thursday. 
The Ducks, who finished third in the Pacific Division, will face either the Vegas Golden Knights or Utah Mammoth in the second round. Vegas leads that series 3-2 with Game 6 in Salt Lake City on Friday (10 p.m. ET; Utah16, SCRIPPS, ESPN, TVAS2, SN360, SN).
Orchestrating the Anaheim power play was assistant coach Jay Woodcroft, who was head coach of the Oilers from Feb. 10, 2022, until he was fired on November 12, 2023, following a 3–9–1 start to the season.

He was replaced by current Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch.

"Jay's got an awareness to a lot of their tendencies, a lot of their predictable movements, or what their mannerisms are. Basically, what to expect," Quenneville said of the Oilers. "He was very helpful, and our power play being that strong with two different units was very well done."

Four players accounted for the eight power-play goals against the Oilers.

Cutter Gauthier, who scored an Anaheim-leading high 41 goals during the regular season, scored three with the man-advantage in the series. Alex Killorn and Mikael Granlund had two each and Troy Terry scored the other.

The Ducks have scored at least one power-play goal in 10 straight games dating back to the regular season.

Terry's power-play goal in Game 1 against the Oilers gave the Ducks a 3-2 lead late in the second period before Anaheim surrendered two goals in the final 11:30 of the third and lost 4-3.

The Ducks scored two more power-play goals in a 6-4 win in Game 2, another in the 7-4 victory in Game 3, and twice with the man-advantage in the second period of Game 4, erasing a two-goal deficit in the eventual 4-3 overtime win.

“They completely took advantage of any power play they had,” Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. "It started early in the series."

Anaheim's lone goal in the 4-1 loss in Game 5 also came during a 5-on-4, and Gauthier's power-play goal at 16:50 of the first period on Thursday provided Anaheim with a 3-1 lead, which turned out to be the game-winner in the 5-2 victory.

“Our power play, again, scored a very timely goal for us," Quenneville said. "I think our special teams were special in this series and that made a big impact.”

Edmonton was 20th on the penalty kill during the regular season.

"We struggled on the PK all year," Edmonton captain Connor McDavid said. "We've been searching for consistency there." 

The Oilers owned the No. 1 power play in the League heading into the playoffs (30.6), and finished 4-for-14 (28.6) in the series against the Ducks. 

Edmonton also surrendered a short-handed goal in Game 2.

“I know, from the other side of things, you get confidence on the power play, and you just snap it around and you win the little battles and things go in for you," Nugent-Hopkins said. "We understand how important special teams (are) in the playoffs. They obviously won that battle.”

Ducks assistant coach Ryan McGill took over the penalty kill this season after helping the New Jersey Devils finish second in the NHL in 2024-25 (82.7).

The Ducks only slightly improved their penalty kill from 29th in the NHL last season (74.2) to tied for 26th this season (76.4), but they were solid against the Oilers.

Anaheim did not have to kill any penalties in Game 6.

“Yeah, I liked our PK tonight,” Quenneville joked.