Edmonton’s Game 5 offensive surge and defensive lockdown exposed Ducks’ mental lapses. Anaheim must adapt to new Oilers strategies or face a Game 7 showdown.
With their opponents on the ropes, the Anaheim Ducks traveled to Alberta to take on the Edmonton Oilers for Game 5 of their series on Tuesday, with the Ducks up in the series 3-1. Anaheim had a chance to register the franchise’s first series win since they defeated the Oilers in the second round of the 2017 playoffs.
With their backs against the wall, the Oilers roster, led by head coach Kris Knoblauch, pulled out all the stops, got out to a big 3-0 early lead, traded power play goals with the Ducks, locked down their end of the ice, and coasted to a victory in the final 30 minutes of a pivotal Game 5.
Edmonton sprinted out of the gates in Game 5, dominating possession time and shot totals. However, the Ducks could be held accountable for costly mental lapses, as has been typical of their team this season, on all three of the Oilers’ first-period tallies.
Knoblauch made some key adjustments to his lineup and playing style in Game 5, aiming to shift the series' momentum back in the Oilers’ favor. If Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville is unable to counter these adjustments in Game 6, the Ducks will be forced to head back to Edmonton to face an experienced, lethal team in a hostile environment for a Game 7.
Perry Nelson-Imagn ImagesLineup
Despite the reported Oilers lineup for Game 5 indicating a nearly identical forward group to the first four games of the series, Knoblauch started superstar centers Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl together, on the same line alongside Kasperi Kapanen.
Placing McDavid and Draisaitl on the same line has been a proven go-to adjustment for whoever stands behind the Oilers’ bench when the team needs a boost in the regular season or playoffs alike. It was expected that Knoblauch would turn to this option at some point if he felt desperate.
Though he had the benefit of last change, as Edmonton was the home team for Game 5, he opted not to match his top line against any particular Anaheim line or pair, and instead rolled four forward lines and three defensive pairs.
He also adjusted every pair along his blueline for this crucial Game 5 matchup. They created three balanced pairs by shifting Darnell Nurse to play with Evan Bouchard, Jake Walman alongside Connor Murphy, and Mattias Ekholm alongside Ty Emberson. Every pairing played a cohesive, identical style, and Knoblauch, again, elected not to match up any pair against any line or pair of Anaheim’s.
Lastly, Knoblauch went back to Connor Ingram in Edmonton’s crease. He played well enough to win the Oilers Games 1-3, and Tristan Jarry did the same in Game 4, so the Oilers’ coach went with the one who earned them their only victory of the series heading into Tuesday. Ingram only allowed one goal on 30 shots, but there was relatively little traffic in front of him in Game 5 and virtually no second-chance opportunities.
Perry Nelson-Imagn ImagesTactical
Lineup changes were one aspect of what made Edmonton successful in Game 5. The other potentially more impactful adjustment was their game plan. Much like a significant focus for Anaheim heading into this series was to eliminate as much of Edmonton’s rush game as possible, specifically with heavy back pressure, Edmonton applied a similar strategy in their approach to Game 5.
It’s not a secret that the most influential aspect of Anaheim’s offensive success in the 2025-26 season has been to pressure opponents into turnovers, fly secondary support, and activate weakside defensemen as ways to generate rush chances.
When in-zone, the Ducks are more hit-or-miss when it comes to generating looks off the cycle, often aiming to feed their points with low-to-high passes from the corners and send traffic to the front of the net, a rudimentary method given the talent on the roster.
Heading into the season, Edmonton made it a priority to enhance their net-front defense and felt comfortable in that area heading into the playoffs. As this series has progressed, they’ve streamlined their approach offensively, resorting to a forechecking priority and moving away from connecting passes through the neutral zone that Anaheim had been proficient at disrupting.
They applied an aggressive forecheck when they could, and were energetic, strategic, and diligent with their backchecking F3 to pressure Anaheim’s puck carrier through the neutral zone, allowing Edmonton’s defensemen to seal and challenge earlier, at the defensive blueline. With cutback lanes mitigated, the Ducks’ attackers were forced to chip pucks in deep in an attempt to establish a forecheck of their own, not necessarily an area of strength for them.
When protecting or changing, they were extremely passive with their neutral zone pressure, careful not to overcommit and forcing the Ducks to try and dice their way through layers of sticks and bodies.
Corinne Votaw-Imagn ImagesDucks Response
The task now shifts to Quenneville if Knoblauch continues with his new lineup and tactical adjustments. Quenneville has been hesitant to alter his lineup after wins, but now that they were defeated in Game 5, he may make some tweaks of his own.
He’ll have first change in Game 6, so one would expect McDavid and Draisaitl to see a heavy dose of Jackson LaCombe and Jacob Trouba, as McDavid had in Games 3 and 4. He could load up his top two lines with most of his offensive talent and attempt to put a traditional checking line together on the third line.
Players like Radko Gudas, Ross Johnston, and Jansen Harkins could be available, coming off injuries, and players like Frank Vatarno and Olen Zellweger, who haven’t seen any ice this series, could be inserted into the lineup in some facet.
Tactically, Anaheim could attempt to manufacture more in-zone offense by creating high weaves and switches at the top of the zone and along the perimeter to get the Oilers’ defenders out of position, opening and exploiting seams.
Quenneville is a Hall of Fame coach and has seen his fair share of deep series, making key adjustments at key junctions. Jay Woodcroft knows the Edmonton roster intimately as their former head coach and could, in theory, construct a counter to their new defensive identity.
For the Ducks, it may be as simple as needing to get off to a better start, getting a big save, and/or executing better at key moments. Whatever the solution, they’ll need to find it quickly, as heading back to Edmonton in a 3-3 series against the defending Western Conference Champions is anything but ideal.