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Vegas (3-2) at Anaheim (2-3)
- When: May 14 2026, 9:30 PM
- Where: Honda Center, Anaheim, CA, USA
- TV: TNT
Vegas vs Anaheim NHL Preview & Pick
Moneyline: Vegas -120
Spread: Vegas -1.5 (+215)
Total: 6.0
Anaheim Ducks: Overtime Heartbreak Continues
The Ducks officially entered the terrifying section of the playoffs known as “everybody suddenly discovers stress eating.”
Anaheim Ducks now trail the series 3-2 after dropping a brutal overtime game Tuesday night, and suddenly every fan in Anaheim is pretending they totally enjoy emotional suffering for entertainment purposes.
To their credit, the Ducks have been surprisingly impressive this postseason. Most people expected Vegas to casually steamroll this series somewhere around Game 3. Instead, Anaheim keeps hanging around like a horror movie villain that refuses to disappear.
Mason McTavish sounded confident afterward, which is exactly what every young team says right before either forcing Game 7 or accidentally giving up three goals in seven minutes.
The Ducks did battle hard in Game 5. Olen Zellweger scored his first career playoff goal to tie the game late, briefly sending Honda Center fans into full “we are absolutely winning the Stanley Cup” mode before overtime arrived and ruined everyone’s evening.
Coach Joel Quenneville insists there’s “no pressure” on Anaheim now, which is technically true if you ignore the entire season hanging by a thread.
The bigger concern is the injury situation. Ryan Poehling will miss Game 6 after taking a nasty hit from Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb, who earned himself a one-game suspension and probably several angry text messages from Ducks fans.
Still, Anaheim has shown enough speed and confidence offensively to make this dangerous for Vegas.
Vegas Golden Knights: Overtime Confidence Growing
Meanwhile, Vegas Golden Knights continue operating like a group of playoff hockey cyborgs specifically programmed to ruin dramatic underdog stories.
Vegas looked completely unfazed after Anaheim tied Game 5 late in regulation. Veteran teams simply handle those moments differently. Younger teams panic. Vegas just calmly skates around waiting for somebody to score the overtime winner while gamblers lose years off their lives.
This time it was Pavel Dorofeyev playing hero again.
Dorofeyev buried the overtime winner Tuesday and now has seven playoff goals, including three over the last two games. The man currently shoots pucks like somebody activated cheat codes.
Vegas also received a massive boost from Tomas Hertl, who suddenly remembered how scoring goals works after disappearing for 29 games offensively. Hertl now has goals in back-to-back contests and finally looks dangerous again.
That matters tremendously with captain Mark Stone still sidelined.
The Golden Knights simply trust their experience in these situations. They have reached the Western Conference finals four times already since joining the league, and they continue playing with the confidence of a team that believes overtime is just an inconvenience delaying dinner reservations.
NHL Playoffs Betting Prediction
Anaheim should come out flying at home because desperation hockey usually creates chaos early.
Unfortunately for Ducks fans, Vegas continues looking like the calmer, deeper, and slightly more ruthless team whenever pressure rises. Anaheim will battle hard again, but the Golden Knights’ playoff experience should eventually take over late.
Also, overtime bettors should probably begin emotionally preparing themselves immediately.
Score Prediction: Golden Knights 4, Ducks 2
Pick: Vegas ML (-120)
Total: Under 6.5 Alt Lines (-130)
- NHL Playoffs Odds source: Bovada Sportsbook
