Inside the Ducks' series-clinching Game 6 playoff win over Oilers

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It was a massive moment for the Anaheim Ducks, the final goal in a 5-2 series-clinching Game 6 that turned a jam-packed Honda Center into a giant house party Thursday night. “It’s hard to see when you’re on the ice like that,” said Carlsson, the Ducks’ blossoming star center. “Probably see it all on my phone soon. I can hear it but you’re so focused. It’s hard to take it all in at the moment.” Troy Terry could see what it all meant to a jubilant crowd. The first playoff series victory for the Ducks since what felt like a lifetime ago. A completely turned over roster ago, for sure. Nine years that would include a properly done rebuild where their fan base put up with a lot of losing, a true NHL-worst bottoming out 2022-23 season thrown in. Terry went through it all as the longest-serving Ducks player, having joined Anaheim in the spring of 2018 after ending his college career and watching the Ducks’ last era of playoff contention end with a four-game drubbing by the San Jose Sharks. “The fan base,” Terry said, collecting his thoughts. “It’s been hard on me, too. It’s been a long time. We’ve had fans that have been super loyal, have always shown up for us and they deserve this. A lot of us live in the Newport area. All of a sudden, you’re seeing cars with Ducks flags on them everywhere and you just really start to see what this means to Orange County and it’s been a long time. The Ducks may still be seen as an upstart in these playoffs, but there was no question who was the better team. Edmonton had the pedigree. It had nine series wins over the last four postseasons and trips to the last two Stanley Cup finals. It had the best player in the world in Connor McDavid and maybe a top-five player in Leon Draisaitl, McDavid’s fellow Hart Trophy-winning running mate. What it didn’t have was ideal health to combat a younger, faster Anaheim squad that basically played only two bad periods out of 18. The last time the Ducks shook hands as the victor was in 2017, when they were the veteran club on its final serious Cup run. That Anaheim team outlasted a young McDavid and Draisaitl, who got Edmonton back in the playoffs after a 10-year absence. A Ducks’ perfectly played Game 7, in which they shut down those twin ascending superstars, lifted Anaheim to the Western Conference final. Much has changed since. There isn’t one player left from that Anaheim team. Only Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Darnell Nurse join McDavid and Draisaitl as remnants from that series. But one parallel can be drawn. The Ducks, as this year’s fresh-faced playoff entrant, put the defensive clamps on the Oilers’ two-headed monster just as a prior era did. This time was about applying an impeccable finish to a team worn down by a lot of hockey over the last three years. “For sure it was our best game,” said Ducks coach Joel Quenneville, who now has a career record of 20-6 in Game 6s. “It could have been our best game of the year. A lot of things went well tonight. We didn’t have to play catch up. We had a good start. We might not have scored right away, but I still thought we had good pace. We had good possession. And we did a lot of the things technically in the game that kept us having the puck a little longer than we had in most of the series. “Our power play again scored a very timely goal for us. I think our special teams were special in this series and that made a big impact.” On Thursday, the Ducks got everything they wanted after letting themselves down in Game 5 with a terrible opening 10 minutes. Ryan Poehling’s fourth goal of these playoffs gave the Ducks their first 1-0 lead of the series. Chris Kreider was put back on the top line with Carlsson and Terry, and celebrated his 35th birthday by finishing a terrific rush with his younger mates. Cutter Gauthier answered a Connor Murphy goal with a score for Anaheim’s eighth power-play goal of the series. With a 3-1 lead, the Ducks turned the tables from Game 5. And that’s where they put into practice the lessons learned the hard way all season. They were so used to trailing in games and making comebacks — particularly after the Olympic break — that they didn’t fare well holding early leads in the rare times they got them. But they got a huge momentum swing when Terry scored with 47 seconds left in the second period, not long after Zach Hyman’s goal that would have brought Edmonton within one was correctly waved off as Hyman put a rebound in with a distinct kicking motion. The Oilers had precious little to build off. Anaheim never visited the penalty box. And goalie Lukas Dostal gave the Ducks his best game with a 25-save effort that included some timely stops. “Obviously, it’s disappointing for us,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “There’s a lot of credit to the Ducks team. I thought they played really well. They’ve got a really exciting future ahead of them, just with the players that they have. I think the coaching staff did a great job getting it all together for them.” Jackson LaCombe’s star turn was arguably the biggest difference. The 25-year-old was the best player through the six games. LaCombe added an assist Thursday and was a plus-3, running his point total to lead all defensemen in the playoffs while having a plus-6 rating at even strength. McDavid was weakened by an ankle injury suffered in Game 2, but LaCombe led a defensive effort that limited him to two points in 5-on-5 play. In the end, the Ducks had more contributors across the lineup. Kreider broke out with a three-point night after fellow veterans Alex Killorn and Mikael Granlund produced in earlier wins. Jacob Trouba and John Carlson shared in the heavy lifting on the back end with LaCombe. The unsung fourth line of Jeffrey Viel, Tim Washe and Ian Moore consistently gave Anaheim quality minutes. Mason McTavish hasn’t played a ton, but his impact grew as the series went on. Not only have these Ducks been entertaining, but they showed a fan base that there is some mettle to go with their run-and-gun mindset. “It’s a huge win,” Quenneville said. “I’m happy for the players. I’m happy for our fans. And now we’ve got a taste of playoff hockey. And I think we can feel at this moment that it’s so much fun playing games that have the meaning and the building being as loud and excited as it is. And then it seems to grow from this level on. “Now we get to experience another round. I think this is healthy for us. And we got a young group that’s still — you don’t know how they’re going to play, but you’re certainly excited what the upside is.” Where this playoff road takes the Ducks is to be traveled still. But the bright future that’s been long predicted for them is now here. And a recharged “Orange Country” — the marketing slogan they adopted before last season — is fervently behind them. “Loud,” said Kreider, who knows atmosphere after playoff runs with the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. “Super invested. Yeah, it was a blast. You can feel the energy in the building. It’s just a ton of fun to play in front of our home crowds.” Terry went seven seasons without a playoff game. He’ll now get at least four more. Maybe many more if the Ducks continue to build momentum as they await either Vegas or Utah. But to seal the deal against the once-favored Oilers was “an awesome feeling.” For the fans that stuck with them through lean times. For himself and the faith he kept. For his teammates that are enjoying a wild ride together. “It was our first taste of it, and we knew that this series was there for us if we played the right way,” Terry said. “I just thought through the whole thing – obviously they made a push in Game 5 – but I’m just proud of the guys. A lot of inexperienced guys, myself included. I thought we played maturely, played hard, and the fans here brought it. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms