The Anaheim Ducks made significant lineup changes for Game 4 of their second-round Stanley Cup Playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights, and the moves paid off handsomely. With three key players returning—Mason McTavish, Ian Moore, and Olen Zellweger—the Ducks rallied to a 4-3 win, leveling the series at 2-2 and sending it back to Vegas for a pivotal Game 5 on Tuesday.
Stanley Cup Playoff series are often compared to chess matches, where every move demands a countermove. Unlike the Ducks’ six-game first-round victory over the Edmonton Oilers, this second-round battle with the Golden Knights has been a strategic tug-of-war. After splitting the first two games, Anaheim dropped Game 3 and needed a response.
For Sunday’s Game 4, Ducks coach Joel Quenneville made his most sweeping adjustments yet. McTavish, a $7-million-per-season forward, had been a healthy scratch in Games 2 and 3, a surprising decision for a player just starting a six-year contract. Moore also sat out those games as Jansen Harkins and Ross Johnston were inserted for added physicality in the bottom six.
“It’s never easy. Never an easy decision,” Quenneville said after Game 2. “But I think it’s not punishment. I’d say, hey, we want to have more troops in the series. We think we’re going to need everybody. That was basically the reason why we brought both of them in.” He added that there was nothing missing from McTavish’s game and expected him to return.
Harkins and Johnston fulfilled their roles in a big Game 2 win, but after the Ducks struggled for energy in a Game 3 loss and the power play continued to falter, another tactical response was needed. McTavish admitted he was surprised by the scratch, believing he had played “decent,” and Quenneville praised his power-play contributions. But McTavish was ready for Game 4.
Although he didn’t register a point and logged the fewest minutes among forwards (11:25), McTavish was on the ice for three Ducks goals, including two on the power play. His line with Ryan Poehling and Cutter Gauthier dominated possession, earning 90.91% of shot attempts and a staggering 94.18% share of expected goals while on the ice, according to Natural Stat Trick.
“He’s been awesome throughout these whole playoffs,” Gauthier said. “He’s been a player who just keeps his head down and works really hard and definitely the heartbeat of our line with me and Poehls. Tonight, I thought he’d played a great game, getting on the inside, getting in front of the goalie’s eyes, making life difficult for their defenseman and ultimately leading for a handful of opportunities that we had tonight. It definitely doesn’t go unnoticed.”
Despite the low ice time—due to line-matching, McTavish, Poehling, and Gauthier (who had three assists) were the three lowest-minute forwards—Quenneville was impressed.
“I thought he had a heck of a game,” Quenneville said. “I really liked his attitude coming into the game. Not easy for him to be not in lineup, and then play the way he did shows his character. He wanted to be a big part of it, and he was, in a lot of ways, not just power play, but I thought he played a real solid game.”
McTavish’s return, along with Moore and Zellweger, gave the Ducks a boost in mobility and offensive creativity. Moore scored a crucial goal, and Zellweger contributed with his skating and puck movement on the blue line. The trio’s insertion paid dividends as Anaheim evened the series and now heads to Vegas with momentum. Game 5 is set for Tuesday, with the winner taking a critical lead in the best-of-seven series.