Ducks lose West 2nd Round to Golden Knights; offensive woes among factors

ANAHEIM -- The Anaheim Ducks were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 5-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 of the Western Conference Second Round at Honda Center on Thursday. 

Vegas won the best-of-7 series and advanced to the Western Conference Final against the Colorado Avalanche. 

Anaheim was playing in its first postseason since 2018, and defeated the Edmonton Oilers in six games in the first round. The Ducks have not advanced past the second round of the playoffs since reaching the conference final in 2017.

Anaheim (43-33-6) finished third in the Pacific Division. 

The skinny 

Potential unrestricted free agents: Jansen Harkins, F; Ross Johnston, F; Jeffrey Viel, F; John Carlson, D; Radko Gudas, D; Jacob Trouba, D; Petr Mrazek, G. 

Potential restricted free agents: Cutter Gauthier, F; Leo Carlsson, F; Tyson Hinds, D; Ian Moore, D; Pavel Mintyukov, D; Olen Zellweger, D. 

Potential 2026 Draft picks: 6

Here are five reasons why the Ducks were eliminated:

1. Uncharted waters 

The Ducks qualified for the postseason for the first time in eight seasons and had 15 players taking part in their first playoffs. Anaheim upset Edmonton in the first round, winning the best-of-7 series in six games, but did not have enough to get past the Golden Knights in the second. 

A 3-2 overtime loss in Game 5 was difficult to overcome and Game 6 got away early when the Ducks fell behind 3-0 in the first period.

Climbing to the second round was a good benchmark for a team with young core pieces to develop into a Stanley Cup contender, and the experience of 12 playoff games this season will help in the future. 

2. Playing from behind 

Anaheim had trouble starting on time and were forced to play from behind far too often for the liking of coach Joel Quenneville. 

In two of the four losses in this series, Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal gave up a goal on the first shot he faced. 

Dostal was a victim of that occurrence 14 times in total this season -- 11 during the regular season and three more in the postseason. 

Anaheim was one of the best teams in the NHL at rallying from deficits in the regular season with 26 comeback wins, tied with the Montreal Canadiens, but in the playoffs, against a strong defensive team like the Golden Knights, trailing quickly eventually caught up to the Ducks.

3. Power outage 

It took four games for Anaheim to score a power-play in the series, going 0-for-11 with the man advantage through the first three games, two of them losses.

The Ducks scored twice on the power play in a 4-3 win in Game 4 and then another in the 3-2 overtime loss in Game 5, but it was not enough to make a difference in the series. 

Anaheim gave up a short-handed goal to Vegas forward Brett Howden in Game 6 to fall behind 2-0, which proved to be a turning point. 

After going 8-for-16 (50 percent) with the man advantage in the first-round win against the Oilers, the Ducks were 4-for-22 (18.2 percent) against the Golden Knights. Anaheim finished 12-for-38 (31.6 percent) on the power play in 12 playoff games. 

4. Lost the goaltending battle 

Dostal, playing in his first postseason, gave up 17 goals to Vegas in the series and had a 3.21 goals-against average and .864 save percentage. The 25-year-old allowed five goals on 21 shots in the 5-1 loss in Game 6. 

Golden Knights goalie Carter Hart gave up 12 goals in the series with a 1.99 GAA and .935 save percentage. 

Dostal played well in at times, but could not come up with the key save for Anaheim, unlike Hart, who kept Vegas in the game during stretches when it was being dominated territorially. 

5. Goals ran dry  

Anaheim averaged 3.23 goals per game during the regular season and scored 26 goals (4.33 goals per game) in the six-game win against the Oilers. 

But that trend did not continue in the second round; the Golden Knights held the Ducks to 13 goals in the six games (2.17 goals per game). Anaheim scored at least three goals twice in the series and totaled six goals in its four losses. 

Defenseman Jackson LaCombe led Anaheim with nine points (one goal, eight assists) in six games against the Oilers, but was held to one assist against Vegas. 

In the first round, forwards Troy Terry and Leo Carlsson each had eight points (three goals, five assists) and forward Cutter Gauthier had seven points (four goals, three assists); the three combined for 26 points (10 goals, 13 assists). 

In the second round, Gauthier had five assists, Carlsson had three points (one goal, two assists), and Terry had three assists -- a total of 11 points (one goal, 10 assists).