2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Ducks vs. Golden Knights Western 2nd Round preview

They said it

“We’ve got a taste of playoff hockey, now we get to experience another round and I think this is healthy for us. We’ve got a young group that’s still — you don’t know how they’re going to play — but you’re certainly excited about what the upside is.” – Ducks coach Joel Quenneville

“Good team speed, fast team. A lot of good young skill, good veteran presence as well.” – Golden Knights captain Mark Stone on the Ducks

Will win if …

Ducks: Their young talent continues to play without fear and are again not intimidated by a team with a lot more playoff experience. Skilled offensively, the Ducks are comfortable playing from behind, which is not always a recipe for playoff success, but it makes them a tough team to put away. Anaheim had three comeback wins against Edmonton. The Ducks scored a number of goals off the rush against the Oilers, utilizing their speed and taking advantage of turnovers in the neutral zone or just inside their blue line. 

Golden Knights: They can shut down the Anaheim power play, which was lethal against Edmonton, going 8-for-16. The Golden Knights were short-handed 16 times against the Mammoth and only allowed one power-play play goal. If they can stay out of the box or keep the Ducks’ power play off the board when they do take a penalty, it will go a long way toward winning the series. Anaheim and Vegas each scored 17 goals at 5-on-5 in their respective series — tied for most in the playoffs — so this could come down to special teams.

How they look 

Ducks projected lineup

Chris Kreider — Leo Carlsson — Troy Terry

Alex Killorn — Mikael Granlund — Beckett Sennecke

Mason McTavish — Ryan Poehling– Cutter Gauthier

Jeffrey Viel — Tim Washe — Ian Moore

Jackson LaCombe — Jacob Trouba

Pavel Mintyukov — John Carlson

Tyson Hinds — Radko Gudas

Lukas Dostal

Ville Husso

Scratched: Olen Zellweger, Frank Vatrano, Drew Helleson

Injured: Jansen Harkins (hand surgery), Ross Johnston (lower body)

Golden Knights projected lineup

Ivan Barbashev — Jack Eichel — Pavel Dorofeyev

Brett Howden — Mitch Marner — Mark Stone

Reilly Smith — Tomas Hertl — Keegan Kolesar

Cole Smith — Nic Dowd — Colton Sissons

Brayden McNabb — Shea Theodore

Noah Hanifin — Rasmus Andersson

Jeremy Lauzon — Kaedan Korczak

Carter Hart

Adin Hill

Scratched: Ben Hutton, Brandon Saad, Akira Schmid

Injured: William Karlsson (lower body), Jonas Rondbjerg (lower body)