ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Stanley Cup playoffs can change a team. The high stakes and the frenzied crowds annually inspire hockey players who can handle them to ever-higher levels of grit, guile and greatness.
The Anaheim Ducks are the latest young team growing and thriving under the weight of its first taste of postseason pressure.
Although they ended their franchise's seven-year playoff drought, the Ducks were not a good defensive team during the regular
season, too often settling for indifferent backchecking and mediocre goaltending that frequently didn't hurt them because of their offensive excellence. Anaheim allowed the fourth-most goals in the NHL, easily the most given up by any playoff team, before surrendering 21 goals to similarly wide-open Edmonton in the first round.
But when the Ducks had to protect a 2-0 lead over the playoff-tested Vegas Golden Knights with less than seven minutes left in Game 2 of the second round Wednesday night, they showed how much the postseason means.
During one frantic goalmouth scramble, three penalty-killing Ducks dived to the ice to block multiple shots — Mikael Granlund even made one block with an outstretched toe — while goalie Lukas Dostal went side to side with extraordinary desperation, jokingly saying he was “playing more soccer goalie than hockey goalie out there.”
The extra playoff exertion was palpable, and their teammates on the bench leaped to their feet in excitement. Anaheim hung on for a 3-1 win, evening the series and adding another layer of experiential bedrock to the foundation of a young team that intends to be in Stanley Cup contention for years to come.
“A lot of us are going through it together for the first time ... and the whole experience is just bringing us closer together,” Ducks forward Troy Terry said Thursday. “I think what you’re seeing, we can feel in our room, just how much we’re coming together at this time of year. Whether it’s a blocked shot, a goal, whatever it is, you can feel the closeness. All of us have just been so hungry for this opportunity. We were all well aware of what it would take to be successful in the playoffs, but you never really know until you get in these positions.”
The playoffs resume Friday with the Montreal Canadiens visiting the Buffalo Sabres before Anaheim hosts Vegas in Game 3.
Much of the Golden Knights' core has been together for years, building the camaraderie and accountability necessary to give its best effort in the postseason.
This is all new to the Ducks, and they're embracing it. Anaheim has allowed only four goals in two games by Vegas, and they include an empty-netter in Game 1 and a meaningless power-play goal with 5.6 seconds left in Game 2.
“I know this team had some growing pains we had to go through, but all year long we said, ‘I just can’t wait to get to the playoffs so we can see just how good these guys can be,’” coach Joel Quenneville said. “Across the board, I would have to say for sure we’re playing the best hockey we’ve shown all year.”
Anaheim went 3-0 at Honda Center in the first round against the Oilers. Orange County fans haven't seen hockey in May since 2017, when the Ducks made the Western Conference finals.
When/Where to Watch: Game 2, Friday, 7 p.m. EDT (TNT, HBO MAX).
Despite some lapses, the Buffalo Sabres played to their speedy, up-tempo attacking identity in winning Game 1 against Montreal.
It’s the Canadiens’ turn to rediscover their identity while adapting to a different-styled foe following a 4-2 loss on Wednesday.
However resilient and capable Montreal was in the first round while grinding out a seven-game win over the slower, heavier and tight-checking Tampa Bay Lightning, the Canadiens need to switch gears against Buffalo.
“I can’t say that I learned anything yesterday, but I will tell you that I know we can play with them,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “We’re just going to have to do some things a bit better."
A better start would help, as the Sabres built a 2-0 lead in the first period. Although Montreal outshot Buffalo 11-1 in the third period, most of them came from the perimeter.
Otherwise, the outcome -- from the Canadiens’ perspective -- was decided on a few unfortunate breaks.
Defenseman Lane Hutson fell and coughed up the puck in a turnover that led to Buffalo’s opening goal. Mike Matheson’s clearing attempt was then batted down by Buffalo’s Ryan McLeod, setting up Bowen Byram’s goal that made it 4-1 midway through the second period.
“It’s a little bit different, but we know what to expect now,” forward Cole Caufield said in comparing Tampa and Buffalo.
After scoring a team-leading 51 goals in the regular season, Caufield placed the emphasis on himself to regain his touch amid a four-game point drought.
“As a whole, not where I want it to be. I expect more out of myself, and my teammates do too,” he said. “Just trying to get better every game and just trying to make a difference.”
Montreal has yet to win or lose two straight this postseason, and it's coming off a series against Tampa Bay in which all seven games were decided by one goal — including four in regulation.
The Sabres also believe they can be better following an outing in which they were limited to a playoff-low 16 shots.
“Some of our puck decisions, I thought, weren’t up to the level that we had,” coach Lindy Ruff said, noting a four-day break between games might have played a factor.
"I hate to say rust — but you haven’t been up and running, your game tempo isn’t quite there,” he added. “Some of our puck decisions led to opportunities, what I call giving up free offense. It wasn’t from lack of effort.”
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AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow in Buffalo contributed to this report.
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