Ducks still wear determined confidence after gut-punch Game 5 loss in Vegas
For the first time this playoffs, Anaheim faces elimination, but the Ducks' locker room mood after the overtime dagger wasn't frustration but a dogged focus on Game 6 chance.
May 12, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Anaheim Ducks defenseman Olen Zellweger (51) celebrates with Anaheim Ducks center Mason McTavish (23) after scoring a goal agianst the Vegas Golden Knights during the third period of game five of the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena. LAS VEGAS – Whichever way overtime went in Game 5 on Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena, one team was going to feel like one slipped away with a game and series on a razor’s edge. Both the Anaheim Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights matched each other with power play goals in the first period.
They matched each other with battling third period goals. The shot clock was nearly even with Anaheim taking the favor, 36-32. Ultimately, it was Vegas that got the series-swinging overtime goal–pouncing on the Ducks’ inability to clear and Jack Eichel feeding Pavel Dorofeyev for the winner, 3-2, and the series lead, 3-2.
However, for Anaheim, the overwhelming emotion in the locker room postgame was not a tense frustration. No, the Ducks wore a determined confidence, as they look to channel their biggest adversity yet with their season on the line back at Honda Center in Game 6 on Thursday. “It's right there on the tip of your tongue and you don't get it, so it's a bit frustrating,” Cutter Gauthier said, “but definitely motivated to get back out there and compete against those guys again.
” “I'm pretty excited to see what we all got,” Mason McTavish said. “I think a lot of guys are just excited to play already. We want to get back out there already, and we're kind of excited to see what everybody's gonna bring.
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