"You cannot quit believing when you're in any situation," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said Friday.
"Momentum swings in the playoffs are so drastic and they mean so much. If you are able to get one [goal], you start to believe and it sends a different message to the opponent.
"You get two and it really sends [the message], 'We can get this done.' The intensity level goes up dramatically. We found a way and willed it across the line in the end."
This has been the season of the NHL's youth movement, but the old warhorses are finding ways to help the Ducks win. Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf, who will turn 32 on Wednesday, has been a force, and forward Corey Perry, who will be 32 on May 16, has had a playoff renaissance.
Getzlaf has been at his very best against the Oilers. He started the rally with the Ducks' first goal in Game 5 and assisted on Perry's goal in double overtime. Getzlaf entered Saturday tied with Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel for the League lead with eight goals in the playoffs and was second with 15 points, one behind Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin.
"The puck is just with him right now," Cogliano said. "He's just making plays that other guys just can't make. I think he could have had a hat trick in the first period.
" ... I don't think there's anyone in the League that has an answer for his physicality and how big he is. He's a player that you want to try to play physical on. How are you going to do that, really?"
Getzlaf (6-foot-4, 221 pounds) has managed to bring out the best in his old linemate, Perry. In addition to the goal in Game 5, Perry had two assists and has elevated his game since being moved from the third line to the first line with Getzlaf after Patrick Eaves sustained a lower-body injury in Game 3.