Ducks Fall in OT, Face Elimination – Game 5 takeaways

Despite dominating for large stretches of Game 5, the Anaheim Ducks lost in overtime 3-2 on Pavel Dorofyev’s second goal of the game at 4:10 of the extra session.

Beckett Sennecke and Olen Zellweger each scored for Anaheim, and Cutter Gauthier had two assists. Lukas Dostal made 29 saves.

The Ducks will face elimination in Game 6 at Honda Center on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. PT.

The Ducks Had No Answer for Vegas’ OT Push

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Anaheim dominated the second and third periods, outshooting Vegas 27-16 in those 40 minutes. Plus, the Ducks took the momentum when Zellweger capped a monster shift by scoring his first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal with just 3:05 in regulation.

Yet, in a city known for its high-profile boxing matches, Vegas went for the knockout early in overtime. The Golden Knights outshot the Ducks 5-0 in the extra session and finally answered the bell after Anaheim’s 40 minutes of body blows.

“I thought it was a very competitive game,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said. “It’s definitely a big letdown, but tomorrow you wake up, and it’s a new day.”

Dorofyev’s second goal capped an eventful night. He singlehandedly created the Golden Knights’ first goal by stripping Chris Kreider of the puck, on what would have been a short-handed two-on-one, then skated to the slot and beat Dostal to knot the game at 1.

But Dorofyev missed at least two shifts in the second period after he was struck on the knee with a slap shot. He returned later in the frame and buried the game-winning goal by batting Jack Eichel‘s rebound from midair past Dostal.

“That was a tight game. Lots of chances each way,” Zellweger said. “[Dostal] played phenomenal.

“We need to just reset, and we know what we need to do the next game.”

Cutter Gauthier Nearly Saved the Day

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Gauthier has played like a superstar throughout the second-round series, and he was Anaheim’s best player again in Game 5. He found Zellweger with a crafty cross-slot pass that set up the young defenseman to tie the game late.

Gauthier now has five assists in the past two games and has the primary assist on each of the Ducks’ past four goals dating back to Game 4.

But his two assists were only part of Gauthier’s contributions. He also saved a goal by sweeping the puck off the goal line in the first period that kept the game scoreless.

Anaheim played down a forward throughout Game 5 after it lost center Ryan Poehling to an undisclosed injury in the first period. Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb delivered a hard check against Poehling and was ejected after officials ruled it a major penalty for interference.

Sennecke struck on the subsequent power play, beating Vegas goalie Carter Hart between the pads after Gauthier made a neat zone-saving play along the half wall.

The Ducks scored a power-play goal for the second straight game and finished 1 for 2 — the major penalty was their only man-advantage.

The Ducks Will Face Elimination in Game 6

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After all that, the Ducks will face elimination for the first time this postseason.

“I know this group is gonna bounce back like we have all playoffs long,” Ducks forward Mason McTavish said after Game 5. “We’re gonna take a few lessons from this one and be ready to go.”

The Ducks have played even with the Golden Knights for much of the series. Vegas owns a plus-4 goal differential — in part due to its two empty-net goals in the series.

Anaheim has tightened up over the past two games. Even though Dostal should have swallowed Rasmus Andersson’s initial shot on Hertl’s goal, the Ducks goalie has been solid since he was yanked in Game 3.

So even though they lost a gut-punch game in Vegas, the Ducks are saying all the right things ahead of what could be their final home game of the 2025-26 season.

“I think our guys are going to be excited about it,” Quenneville said. “It’s a fun opportunity. We’ve got to come out and play hard and simple at home and get excited about the home crowd. It’s one game to play one more. That’s our mindset.”

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