{"id":1325,"date":"2026-05-07T10:50:45","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T10:50:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=1325"},"modified":"2026-05-07T10:50:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T10:50:45","slug":"ducks-jackson-lacombe-playing-key-roles-in-playoff-run-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=1325","title":{"rendered":"Ducks\u2019 Jackson LaCombe playing key roles in playoff run"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

LAS VEGAS \u2014 The evolution of defenseman Jackson LaCombe continued in Game 1 of the Ducks\u2019 second-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night at T-Mobile Arena. To say he was involved in ways great and small would be a vast understatement.<\/p>\n

Read more Ducks\u2019 Joel Quenneville \u2018a traditionalist\u2019 when it comes to video replay<\/a><\/p>\n

The Ducks wouldn\u2019t want it any other way.<\/p>\n

To be sure, not all of his play was positive in Game 1.<\/p>\n

Or negative.<\/p>\n

It was a mixed bag, to say the least.<\/p>\n

LaCombe was their best player in many respects.<\/p>\n

Was he their most effective player?<\/p>\n

Maybe.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Maybe not.<\/p>\n

What was most impressive was how he owned it after the Ducks\u2019 3-1 loss in Game 1.<\/p>\n

All of it.<\/p>\n

For starters, he called his second-period decision to pass to teammate Troy Terry rather than shooting into Carter Hart\u2019s wide-open net \u201cjust a stupid mistake.\u201d Had he shot the puck from point-blank range, it would have almost certainly resulted in the Ducks\u2019 first goal.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI already made the decision to pass,\u201d LaCombe admitted.<\/p>\n

Asked if he had spoken to LaCombe about failing to shoot the open shot, Ducks coach Joel Quenneville smiled wryly and said simply, \u201cWe had a great chance there with No. 2. I didn\u2019t have to say anything to him. I think we all knew he would have liked to have had that one back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quenneville referred to LaCombe by his uniform number.<\/p>\n

Later, in the most pivotal and most controversial moment of Game 1, LaCombe made a soft pass along the boards instead of a harder one after beating the Golden Knights\u2019 Jack Eichel to the puck after what seemed to be an obvious icing call was waved off by one of the game\u2019s linesmen.<\/p>\n

Instead of bemoaning the non-call and how it led to the tiebreaking goal by Ivan Barbashev with 4:58 to play, LaCombe faulted his play with the puck, saying, \u201cYou know, you\u2019ve just got to keep playing hockey. It doesn\u2019t mean I can make a soft play after that. So, yeah, that\u2019s just how it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Between the two plays, LaCombe flashed the individual brilliance that made hockey fans, pundits, and no doubt some casual fans drawn to the Ducks\u2019 first playoff appearance in eight years, sit up and take notice of the 25-year-old, fourth-year veteran from Eden Prairie, Minnesota.<\/p>\n

Most impressive was the way he set up the Ducks\u2019 lone goal with a hard-charging rush down the left flank, skating onto a dangerous patch of ice to Hart\u2019s right, drawing the defense to him and then slipping a flawless pass onto the stick of teammate Mikael Granlund, who was stationed in the right faceoff circle.<\/p>\n

In a nanosecond, the puck was behind Hart and the Ducks had tied it, 1-1, with 6:03 left. If not for the blown icing call, LaCombe\u2019s poor clearing attempt (and his failure to shoot earlier) plus Barbashev\u2019s tiebreaking goal, the pass against the grain to Granlund might have been the play of the game.<\/p>\n

Read more Ducks stick to basics, top Golden\u00a0Knights in Game\u00a02 to even series<\/a><\/p>\n

LaCombe credited Granlund and defenseman John Carlson for the goal, declining to take any for himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cJohnny made a great play on the wall (passing the puck ahead),\u201d LaCombe said after recording his team-leading 10th point of the playoffs and his ninth assist in seven games, which was tops in the NHL postseason going into Tuesday\u2019s games around the league. \u201c\u2018Granny\u2019 made a great shot.\u201d<\/p>\n

LaCombe was credited with two shots on goal in Game 1, with another two blocked and one that missed the mark. He also had two hits, one takeaway, three giveaways and a minus-1 defensive rating in a game-high 28 minutes, 7 seconds of ice time, about a minute more than his playoff average.<\/p>\n

The Ducks want and expect him to be an active participant in every game he plays. No question he responded to the challenge during the Ducks\u2019 first-round series victory over Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers. McDavid, playing with an injury, had only one goal in six games.<\/p>\n

Jacob Trouba, LaCombe\u2019s frequent defense partner, objected when a reporter dared to use air quotes while describing how McDavid, the game\u2019s finest offensive player in an era filled with many superb scorers and passers, was \u201cshut down\u201d in the first round.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you put the air quotes on it?\u201d Trouba asked, incredulous.<\/p>\n

It was a fair point.<\/p>\n

LaCombe\u2019s play against McDavid and running mate Leon Draisaitl was a key to the Ducks\u2019 victory, plain and simple. LaCombe\u2019s play also served to move him into a spotlight that suddenly shines brightly on him while he shadows Eichel and Mitch Marner in the second round.<\/p>\n

Trouba, for one, has zero doubts that LaCombe can handle his latest assignment.<\/p>\n

And the next one.<\/p>\n

And the next one.<\/p>\n

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe comes to the rink, he works hard, he wants to get better,\u201d Trouba said of LaCombe. \u201cIt\u2019s great to play with him. He talks a lot. He\u2019s positive with all his teammates about what he sees on the ice. He\u2019s communicating, and as far as leadership, he\u2019s growing into that role quite a bit where guys are looking at him to step up and lead, and he\u2019s done a great job of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Student found with loaded gun after fleeing high school in Westminster, police say<\/a><\/p>\n

NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE SECOND ROUND GAME 2<\/h4>\n

Who:<\/strong> Ducks (down 1-0) at Vegas<\/p>\n

When:<\/strong> Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Where:<\/strong> T-Mobile Arena<\/p>\n

TV:<\/strong> TNT, truTV, HBO Max<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Ducks need the defenseman, whose postseason performance has been invaluable, to be an active participant in every game he plays, and that was the case in their narrow Game 1 loss to Vegas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-verified-news"],"yoast_head":"\nDucks\u2019 Jackson LaCombe playing key roles in playoff run - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=1325\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ducks\u2019 Jackson LaCombe playing key roles in playoff run - 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