Ducks drawing from ‘resiliency in our game’ to extend season in Game 6

ANAHEIM -- The Anaheim Ducks take pride in being a tough team to put away and will rely on that resiliency to extend their season.

The Ducks led the NHL in comeback wins along with the Montreal Canadiens this season (26), and are looking to pull off their biggest come-from-behind victory, facing elimination against the Vegas Golden Knights heading into Game 6 of the Western Conference Second Round at Honda Center on Thursday (9:30 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SN360, SN, TVAS).

Vegas took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series with a 3-2 overtime win in Game 5 on Tuesday.

“We’ve never thrown in the towel once this whole year and I think we’ve shown that resiliency in our game, in our series,” Ducks defenseman John Carlson said Wednesday. “So, I think that’s what you draw from and have that positivity going into a big game on home ice, and that will present some great things for us.”

Anaheim has gone through a number of new experiences qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2018.

The Ducks have 15 players taking part in their first postseason and every game seems to present an unprecedented challenge.

This is the first time Anaheim is facing elimination in the playoffs after defeating the Edmonton Oilers in six games in the first round.

“I think you just try to play the way you want to play,” Ducks forward Alex Killorn said. “I think teams that are hesitant or worried about making mistakes typically aren’t aggressive and don’t make plays in the game.

“In elimination games, sometimes guys don’t want to be the one who makes a mistake or whatever, and they might just try to wait it out. We just want to play the same way we’ve been playing. We’ve been doing pretty good in different instances and just want to continue playing that way for a full three periods.”

There have been a lot of positive moments for the Ducks so far in the series against the Golden Knights.

Anaheim has outshot Vegas in every game, and the power play has woken up since going for 0-for-11 in the first three games, with three power-play goals in the past two.

“I think both teams go into the game thinking they have to win the game,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said. “It’s the most important game at this point and time in the series and you have to play it accordingly. You’re laying everything on the line, and you want to advance and you want to get back in the series.

“They are not going away, and they got a little momentum on their side with a win last night.”

If necessary, Game 7 would be back in Vegas on Saturday.

To get there, the Ducks feel they need to play a clean game where they take care of the puck, while at the same time, continuing to be aggressive offensively.

The key is not to play with fear, said Killorn, who has two Stanley Cup championship rings with the Tampa Bay Lightning (2020, 2021) and 151 games of postseason experience.

“Personally, if you know what you bring and you worry just about your own game and know that you’re going to make the plays that you know how to make,” he said. “If everyone does that, typically, you kind of play a good game and those little mistakes that happen, there’s usually a guy to back you up or whatever.

“I think when guys worry about their own game and know they’re going to bring their best game to an elimination game, things typically go the right way.”

Carlson believes it’s best not to let the moment get too big, which shouldn’t be a problem for a young team not expected to be this deep in the playoffs.

The young core of the roster has played beyond its years and has yet to look overwhelmed by the occasion.

“I think you can never lose sight of the game,” Carlson said. “There’s obviously changes in momentum in a game, the score changes, whether you’re up or down, I think you have to stay in the moment and make the most of those opportunities and not let it get outside of that realm.

“It’s an emotional game, a big game. Stuff happens and just to keep your mentality the same and to press and press and outlast the other team.”

Anaheim is not ready to put its breakout season to bed and Quenneville has a simple message for his young group, who easily could have been up in the series and playing to try and close it out in Game 6.

“Be positive, this happens in a series,” Quenneville said. “We knew it was going to be long series, and it was going to be hard series. So don’t lose the excitement, competitiveness and the thrills of coming into a day like this knowing that we have a lot to look forward to.

“Our goal at the start of the season was to make the playoffs and now that we’re in them, it’s not just being in the playoffs. Let’s find a way to keep pushing.”