Ducks get spark from lineup changes to even West 2nd Round ahead of Game 5

ANAHEIM -- The Anaheim Ducks return to Las Vegas for Game 5 of the Western Conference Second Round against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN360, SN, TVAS) after three changes to their lineup helped them even the best-of-7 series 2-2 with a 4-3 victory in Game 4 on Sunday.

Ian Moore's goal at 3:43 of the third period made him the first Ducks defenseman to score a game-winning goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since Sami Vatanen in Game 5 of the 2016 first round. The 24-year-old graduate of Harvard University was on the third pair after he was a healthy scratch the previous two games and played sparingly at the position after moving to forward in January.

Moore showed poise with the puck after receiving a pass between the right point and the face-off circle. He faked a slap shot and then moved a stride closer before hitting the net with a quick shot that beat Golden Knights goalie Carter Hart.

"Harvard, he learned a lot of good things there," Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said. "Having that flexibility in a game like tonight, and you're comfortable doing it, says a lot."

Paired with Moore was Olen Zellweger. The 22-year-old had the secondary assist on Moore's goal in his NHL postseason debut. One of the smallest players on the roster (5-foot-10, 193 pounds) led the Ducks with three blocked shots, was a team-best plus-2, and was the 22nd Ducks skater to appear in these playoffs and 15th to make his postseason debut.

"It was good," Zellweger said. "Just tried to go out and play simple, jump in where I can, and I thought me and 'Mooresy' read off each other well.”

Moore had the lowest ice time on the Ducks (8:27) and Zellweger wasn't far behind (11:52), but they were noticeable.

"I thought they both did a very good job," Quenneville said. "Their minutes might not have been high, but at the same time, their quality of shifts was important."

Mason McTavish also played after he was a healthy scratch for Games 2 and 3. The 23-year-old forward was part of a power play that went 2-for-4 after starting the series 0-for-11 and had three shots on goal in 11:25.

"I thought he had a heck of a game," Quenneville said. "I really liked his attitude coming into the game. Not easy for him to not be in the lineup and then play the way he did shows his character. He wanted to be a big part of it, and he was in a lot of ways. Not just power play, but I thought he played a real solid game."

McTavish, the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, set NHL career highs in goals (22) and assists (30) last season and signed a six-year contract with the Ducks on Sept. 27, 2025. He had 13 goals and 17 assists through 49 games this season before missing five games in late January with an upper-body injury.

He was then limited to two assists over the next 13 games before he was scratched in back-to-back games in mid-March for the first time in his NHL career. He had nine points (four goals, five assists) over the final 14 games of the regular season to help the Ducks clinch their first playoff berth since 2018. He had a goal and three assists through the first seven playoff games, including two power-play assists, before he was scratched, a move that caught him off guard.

"I thought I was playing decent but, you know what, we've got a lot of good guys," McTavish said before Game 4. "Good players in here who fill roles, so you've just got to play better."

Defenseman and captain Radko Gudas is also nearing a return from a lower-body injury that's kept him out since Game 1 of the first round, creating even more competition for playing time.

Quenneville had a message for those not in the lineup.

"Their attitude around the team is very important to the success and longevity of playing playoff hockey," he said.