Tonight’s game falls on the one-year anniversary of Anaheim hiring Quenneville as the 12th head coach in franchise history.
Coach Q, who has three Stanely Cup Championships to his resume, knows what the grind of playoff hockey is like.
Despite the win on Wednesday, he knows this Vegas team won’t relent, leading Anaheim to make lineup changes like adding Ross Johnston and Harkins.
“They’ve got a good hockey team, and they’re gonna make us play our best in order for us to have some success,” he said. “This is not gonna be an easy battle. That’s why we want to incorporate a couple more guys into our series, knowing it’s gonna be a battle for who knows how many games, but we expect a long one.”
Although the Ducks are a younger squad, their maturity has shown up this postseason. Heading into tonight, they find themselves in a similar situation as Round 1, returning to home ice in a tied series.
A playoff veteran, Alex Killorn talked about the differences with postseason hockey that have allowed his team to play with a more confident swagger.
“Maybe it’s just the fact that in playoffs, you have to be so present in games and you don’t look (ahead) to what your point totals are going to be or what you’re going to have at the end of the year,” Killorn said. “I think you’re just really focused on that one game and I think that’s helped us defend a little bit better … I’ve been really impressed with the way the guys have been playing throughout 60 minutes.”