Ducks most to blame for 2nd round loss to Golden Knights

The Anaheim Ducks’ season has come to an end in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Ducks 5-1 on Thursday night, advancing to the Western Conference Finals against the Colorado Avalanche.

It was a highly successful season for the young Ducks. The franchise had not reached the playoffs since 2018, being swept in the first round by the San Jose Sharks that year. From there, the Ducks did not have a season above 80 points or better than sixth place in the Pacific Division. This year, the ducks finished 43-33-6, good for 92 points and a third-place finish in the Division.

The Ducks then won their first playoff series since 2017. After losing Game 1 of the series against the Edmonton Oilers, the Ducks won four of the next five to defeat the defending Western Conference champions. That would set up the series with the Golden Knights, where they fell in six games. While some players had a solid series against Vegas, others struggled and need to take some blame for the second-round loss.

John Carlson was brought in for his experience

It was a stunning trade when the Washington Capitals sent John Carlson to the Ducks. Carlson was brought in to strengthen the young core of the Ducks and help in the playoffs. He brought with him experience in the playoffs, playing in 137 games in the postseason with the Caps. He also scored 21 goals and 57 assists during that time. Carlson started the playoffs strong. He has five assists in the first series with the Oilers, and his defense was solid. In this series, Carlson was nowhere to be found.

In his six games, he has a minus-four plus/minus rating, while having just one assist. Further, he made multiple mistakes that led to goals for the Golden Knights in the series. Carlson had the worst expected goals agaisnt factor of any player on the Ducks in the series. Further, he was second on the team in high danger chances against, and tied for the most high danger goals converted that were a direct result of his play.

Carlson, who has been a long-time reliable defender, could not handle the speed of the Golden Knights and was consistently beat. The trade for Carlson was not a complete bust, as he was a major reason for the first-round series victory, but he did not get the Ducks past the second round.

Lukas Dostal struggled

Lukas Dostal was not lights out in the first-round series with the Edmonton Oilers, but was good enough to win the series. He only had one game in the series with a save percentage over .900. He would start the series with the Golden Knights strong. In the first game, he allowed two goals on 21 shots, but the offense did not give enough support, and the Golden Knights took the win. Then, in Game 2, he was great. Dostal stopped 21 of 22 shots in the win.

From there, Dostal struggled once again. He allowed three goals on eight shots in the first period of Game 3 before being pulled. In Game 6, he allowed five goals on just 21 shots. While the netminder faced multiple difficult scoring chances from the Golden Knights, he was never able to make the big save. Overall, the 25-year-old finished with a 3.54 goals-against average in the playoffs and an .870 save percentage. Only Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen of Buffalo, who has made just four starts, has a worse save percetnage in the playoffs. Meanwhile, he is 20th out of 23 goaltenders in playoff goals-against average, ahead of Luukkonen and Connor Ingram of the Oilers.

This was the first time in the playoffs for Dostal, and most likely will not be the last. Still, this first experience did not go well for the Ducks’ goaltender.

Chris Kreider disappeared 

Chris Kreider had a resurgent season with the Ducks in 2025-26, after being traded from the New York Rangers. He scored 22 times, which was in line with recent performances, but his 28 assists were a massive improvement from his last year in New York. Further, he was a major part of the powerplay for the Ducks. He scored eight goals with nine assists on the man advantage this year. The powerplay unit for the Ducks was dreadful in the series with the Golden Knights. They converted on just four of 21 chances, good for just a 19 percent conversion rate. Kreder did not add much to the unit in the series with Vegas.

In the playoffs, the veteran forward has just one powerplay point, coming on an assist in Game 3 of the series with the Oilers. Meanwhile, he disappeared at the end of the series with the Golden Knights. In the first three games, he has six shots, one goal, and one helper. In the final three games, he managed just one shot and a minus-two plus/minus rating. For a player who came out on the top line consistently for the Ducks, having just one shot in three games, and not setting up a single high danger opprotunity was a disappearing act from the forward.

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