{"id":4826,"date":"2026-05-11T20:33:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T20:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4826"},"modified":"2026-05-11T20:33:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T20:33:12","slug":"alexander-its-time-for-the-ducks-to-demonstrate-some-desperation-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4826","title":{"rendered":"Alexander: It\u2019s time for the Ducks to demonstrate some desperation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

ANAHEIM \u2014 Maybe this is where youthful enthusiasm and a short memory \u2013 and some desperation \u2013 kick in.<\/p>\n

Read more Paradise Dynasty and Burritos La Palma team up on birria soup dumplings<\/a><\/p>\n

If they do, the Ducks are far from out of this Western Conference semifinal series. If not, this learning experience will be painful.<\/p>\n

Friday night\u2019s Game 3 was excruciating enough. The Vegas Golden Knights chased Lukas Dostal out of the Ducks\u2019 net after one period, ran up a 5-0 lead \u2013 including Mitch Marner\u2019s natural hat trick \u2013 before a belated third-period surge by the hosts, and skated away with a 6-2 victory, a 2-1 series advantage \u2026 and maybe the X factor, a penalty kill that allows them to operate with a little more impunity.<\/p>\n

The Ducks, who converted half of their power plays in their first-round victory over the Edmonton Oilers, have taken an 0-fer with the man advantage so far against the Knights, going 0 for 2 on Friday night to extend their futility to 0 for 11 for the series.<\/p>\n

Would that, perhaps, lead the visitors to ramp up the physicality a little more, figuring it won\u2019t hurt them on the scoreboard?<\/p>\n

\u201cThere wasn\u2019t many power plays either way tonight,\u201d Ducks coach Joel Quenneville noted, considering Vegas was 1 for 3 in man-advantage situations. \u201cBut at the same time they played like they\u2019re an experienced bunch, and they know what is necessary as you progress in a series.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd they got our attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can parse those words as you wish for any hint as to how Sunday\u2019s Game 4 will unfold, but the meaning should be simple. The Golden Knights played desperately in Game 3, and even a group without as much collective playoff experience should understand that when you\u2019re down 2-1 in a best-of-seven, you ramp up the desperation, do whatever it takes and use whatever methods you must to even the series.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s all kinds of stuff going on all the time,\u201d Quenneville said. \u201cEvery shift, there could be stuff going on. \u2026 There\u2019s always games within the game. We gotta be better at that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quenneville also noted that \u201cI always find there\u2019s one game in the series where you can throw it away.\u201d In other words, the only way one bad loss can destroy you is if you let it linger. Thus, the onus will be on the Ducks \u2013 a team, remember, with lots of players with minimal playoff experience \u2013 to flush this one quickly and attack Sunday\u2019s game with their own desperation.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach game\u2019s kind of a standalone thing,\u201d Ducks forward Chris Kreider said. \u201cSo we\u2019ve just got to be better going into the next game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Might the Ducks have made the opposite mistake going into Friday\u2019s game? Were they possibly a little too satisfied after outplaying Vegas for much of the Game 1 loss and winning Game 2 fairly convincingly?<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI thought they played well, but I don\u2019t think we brought our best,\u201d forward Alex Killorn said, suggesting his team was \u201cmaybe a little bit comfortable after last game. They\u2019re a great team. We just have to have a little better start and effort throughout the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Democrats ask the Supreme Court to halt a Virginia ruling blocking new congressional districts<\/a><\/p>\n

As for that suddenly sputtering power play?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s been some good things on the power play,\u201d Killorn said. \u201cThey\u2019ve obviously done a great job and even in the first round they had a great kill. We just got to find ways to, if we\u2019re not gonna score, we have to make sure we\u2019re getting some momentum, at least getting some shots on net.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kreider, along with Beckett Sennecke, made the game mildly interesting in the third period with goals to chip away at what was a 5-0 deficit, after which Quenneville pulled goalie Ville Husso with 4\u00bd minutes left to try to pull closer. But 2\u00bd minutes after that Brett Howden found the empty net.<\/p>\n

Kreider and Killorn are two of the three members of the Ducks\u2019 roster who have actually lifted the Stanley Cup. Defenseman John Carlson is the other. You think they might have a few things to tell their young teammates in the time between Games 3 and 4?<\/p>\n

Maybe these are previews, from Killorn:<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I mean, throughout the season we\u2019ve done a great job. It hasn\u2019t really fazed us when we get scored on first. I think playoffs is a different beast in the sense that teams, once they score, are going to play a little bit differently and protect the lead, especially a veteran team like Vegas, who defend so well. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, this is a seven game series. It\u2019s part of it. For a lot of guys, it\u2019s their first time in the series, but it\u2019s a great opportunity. We\u2019re going to have a great crowd at home and we\u2019ll look forward to the next game.\u201d<\/p>\n

And who knows? Maybe Vegas coach John Tortorella inadvertently provided a talking point for the Ducks. Now that they\u2019ve ceded home-ice advantage back to the Knights with Friday\u2019s defeat, maybe they should treat home ice as a disadvantage?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody talks about the home-ice advantage and stuff like that,\u201d Tortorella said following Friday\u2019s game. \u201cYou talk to the majority of players and coaches in the playoffs, and it\u2019s probably easier to play on the road. They\u2019re together. They\u2019re doing things prior to games. In between games they\u2019re together. It\u2019s more of a focused group.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just simplify when you\u2019re on the road. You simply worry about playing hockey. No distractions. I think that helps.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then again, consider where Tortorella\u2019s team plays its home games, within sight of the Strip. Distractions help keep Las Vegas\u2019 predominant industry in business.<\/p>\n

And maybe that complicates that whole \u201chome-ice disadvantage\u201d angle.<\/p>\n

Never mind. Let\u2019s just say that for the clearest path to winning this series, the Ducks better win Sunday at home.<\/p>\n

Read more Parents trust report cards more than test scores, with consequences for kids<\/a><\/p>\n

jalexander@scng.com<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An awful start for the hosts led to a 6-2 Vegas victory on Friday night and a 2-1 lead for the Golden Knights in the second-round series, so how do the Ducks respond in Game 4?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3020,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion-columnist","category-represents-the-opinion-of-the-author-who-is-either-a-paid-columnist-or-an-unpaid-guest-columnist"],"yoast_head":"\nAlexander: It\u2019s time for the Ducks to demonstrate some desperation - 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=4826\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alexander: It\u2019s time for the Ducks to demonstrate some desperation - Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An awful start for the hosts led to a 6-2 Vegas victory on Friday night and a 2-1 lead for the Golden Knights in the second-round series, so how do the Ducks respond in Game 4?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4826\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-11T20:33:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=4826#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=4826\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\"},\"headline\":\"Alexander: It\u2019s time for the Ducks to demonstrate some desperation\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-11T20:33:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=4826\"},\"wordCount\":1032,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=4826#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/910dbb106e268c6e31fb860afa55e2c0.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Opinion Columnist\",\"Represents the opinion of the author who is either a paid columnist or an unpaid guest columnist.\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=4826#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=4826\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=4826\",\"name\":\"Alexander: It\u2019s time for the Ducks to demonstrate some desperation - Silicon Valley Moving Post\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=4826#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=4826#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/910dbb106e268c6e31fb860afa55e2c0.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-11T20:33:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=4826#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=4826\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=4826#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/910dbb106e268c6e31fb860afa55e2c0.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/910dbb106e268c6e31fb860afa55e2c0.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=4826#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Alexander: It\u2019s time for the Ducks to demonstrate some desperation\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Silicon Valley Moving Post\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Alexander: It\u2019s time for the Ducks to demonstrate some desperation - Silicon Valley Moving Post","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4826","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Alexander: It\u2019s time for the Ducks to demonstrate some desperation - Silicon Valley Moving Post","og_description":"An awful start for the hosts led to a 6-2 Vegas victory on Friday night and a 2-1 lead for the Golden Knights in the second-round series, so how do the Ducks respond in Game 4?","og_url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4826","og_site_name":"Silicon Valley Moving Post","article_published_time":"2026-05-11T20:33:12+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4826#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4826"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7"},"headline":"Alexander: It\u2019s time for the Ducks to demonstrate some desperation","datePublished":"2026-05-11T20:33:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4826"},"wordCount":1032,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4826#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/910dbb106e268c6e31fb860afa55e2c0.webp","articleSection":["Opinion Columnist","Represents the opinion of the author who is either a paid columnist or an unpaid guest columnist."],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4826#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4826","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4826","name":"Alexander: It\u2019s time for the Ducks to demonstrate some desperation - Silicon Valley Moving Post","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4826#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4826#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/910dbb106e268c6e31fb860afa55e2c0.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-11T20:33:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4826#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4826"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4826#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/910dbb106e268c6e31fb860afa55e2c0.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/910dbb106e268c6e31fb860afa55e2c0.webp","width":1024,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4826#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Alexander: It\u2019s time for the Ducks to demonstrate some desperation"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/","name":"Silicon Valley Moving Post","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com"],"url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4826\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}