The Vegas Golden Knights are on the verge of reaching the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fifth time in nine seasons. They face the Anaheim Ducks in Game 6 of the second round at Honda Center on Thursday.
Golden Knights Aim for Series Win
Vegas is trying to reach the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fifth time in nine seasons since entering the NHL as an expansion team in 2017-18. The Golden Knights made the conference final in 2018, 2020 and 2023, as well as the NHL Semifinals in 2021, when the playoff format changed temporarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Golden Knights are going for their 14th series win, which would give them the most in the NHL since they entered the League, passing the Tampa Bay Lightning. They are 13-11 in potential clinching games in best-of-7 series, 7-7 on the road, and coming off a 3-2 overtime win in Game 5.
Vegas coach John Tortorella said, “I think both teams will be better tonight. We’re going to have to be. I don’t look at it as closing out a series. I just want our team to be better than they were the last game and see where it falls from there.”
Ducks Look to Force Game 7
The Ducks haven’t faced playoff elimination since 2018, when they were swept by the San Jose Sharks in the first round. Honda Center hasn’t hosted an elimination game since 2017, when the Ducks defeated the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the second round.
Anaheim has not lost consecutive games this postseason and is 4-1 at home.
Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said, “Let’s come excited about being home here. We’ve got a chance to get to Game 7. Anything can happen. I think that the approach over the last couple days, the guys have been good. I think we want to make sure that we start hard, expect a big push, but let’s push harder than we have all year long.”
Game 7 would be at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday.
McNabb Suspension Impacts Vegas Defence
Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb will serve a one-game suspension for interference against Anaheim center Ryan Poehling in Game 5. Poehling is out with an undisclosed injury because of the hit.
McNabb was averaging 22:24 of ice time — including 3:29 on the penalty kill, most on the Golden Knights — entering Game 5, when he left at the 9-minute mark of the first period after receiving a major penalty for interference and game misconduct.
His absence puts pressure on a Vegas defence already without Jeremy Lauzon, who will miss his sixth straight game with an upper-body injury. Shea Theodore, who usually plays with McNabb on the right side of the top pair, likely will switch to the left to partner with Dylan Coghlan. Kaedan Korczak is expected to play for the first time in four games.
The winner of this series will face the Colorado Avalanche in the conference final.