The Golden Knights are one win from the Western Conference Final, but nothing about this second-round series has stayed simple for long.
Vegas leads the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 entering Game 6 Thursday at Honda Center. A win sends the Knights to the conference final. A loss sends the series back to T-Mobile Arena for Game 7.
Short Memory, Big Stakes
John Tortorella is not treating Game 6 like a history lesson. Asked if Vegas could use its Game 6 closeout win from the first round as a blueprint, Tortorella cut it off quickly.
“I don’t even remember the game from last round,” Tortorella said.
That fits the moment. Vegas does not need nostalgia. It needs a cleaner version of what it already showed in Game 5.
The Knights beat Anaheim 3-2 in overtime Tuesday, but the path was messy. Brayden McNabb was ejected in the first period, Vegas played most of the night with five defensemen, and the Ducks tied it late before Pavel Dorofeyev ended it in overtime.
McNabb Absence Changes The Blue Line
Vegas will have to close without McNabb after the NHL suspended him one game for his late Game 5 hit on Ryan Poehling. McNabb received a five-minute major and game misconduct Tuesday, and Poehling was ruled out with an upper-body injury.
Now, the Knights must adjust again. Dylan Coghlan played 20:05 in Game 5 after McNabb left, while Ben Hutton also handled more responsibility. Shea Theodore, Noah Hanifin and Rasmus Andersson carried heavy minutes, too.
That group survived once. Still, doing it again on the road, in a closeout game, is a different ask.
A Find-A-Way Team
The best version of Vegas has not looked one-dimensional. The Knights have won with defense, rush chances, special teams and Carter Hart cleaning up trouble.
Tortorella said that versatility is necessary in the playoffs.
“You have to play different ways at different times,” he said. “You need to be able to do it in different ways to try to find your way.”
Then he made the point even simpler.
“It’s a find-a-way league.”
Vegas has lived that way all postseason. Mitch Marner leads the Knights with 16 points, Jack Eichel has 14 assists, and Dorofeyev and Brett Howden each have seven goals.
Meanwhile, Hart enters Game 6 with a .912 save percentage this postseason. He made 34 saves in Game 5, including several key stops while Anaheim pushed.
Ducks Still Have Bite
Anaheim has not let this series breathe. The Ducks lost Game 1, answered in Game 2, got rolled in Game 3, then pushed back in Game 4.
Then, in Game 5, Anaheim erased a late deficit before Dorofeyev ended it.
That pattern should keep Vegas honest. Cutter Gauthier leads Anaheim with 12 points, Beckett Sennecke has five goals, and Jackson LaCombe has nine assists.
So, while Vegas owns the series lead, Anaheim owns enough speed and pressure to make Game 6 uncomfortable.
Close It, Or Come Home
The Knights have the experience edge. They also have the deeper group, the hotter stars and the better goaltending numbers.
However, they also have a suspended defenseman, a hostile road building and a Ducks team with no reason to save anything.
That is the Game 6 deal. Vegas can end the series Thursday and move one round from the Stanley Cup Final, but if the Knights drift the way they did in the second period of Game 5, Anaheim has already shown it can drag them back into trouble.
Game 6 is Thursday at Honda Center. Puck drop is 6:30 p.m. Pacific Time.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
