Anaheim Ducks Five Great Playoff Moments: The Heroes of Playoffs Past

Big D = Duck City

If you look over the years, you would see a few teams that the Ducks would play in the playoffs several times. Detroit was one of them, San Jose was another, but an underrated rival was the Dallas Stars. In 2014, the Ducks were the number 1 seed, and as a result, the Ducks would host the Stars in an interesting series. The Ducks won the first two games in the series, but when Dallas returned back home, they protected their home ice with back to back wins to tie the series up at two games apiece. Game 5 was crucial, but the Ducks made a statement with an emphatic six-two win to go to Dallas with a chance to move to the second round.

Heading into game 6, the Stars were looking to impose their will against the Ducks, scoring three goals in the first period to take a three to one lead into the first intermission. The Ducks trailed four to two heading into the third period as Trevor Daley and Ben Lovejoy scored for their respective teams. Things looked bleak for the Ducks, but once again, the Ducks would teach us another lesson about never giving up.

Things weren’t looking great for the Ducks until Ben Lovejoy brought the Ducks within one with less than three minutes remaining in regulation, and then the drama rose to new heights when Devante Smith-Pelly tied the game in a mad scramble with less than twenty-five seconds remaining. The Ducks headed into overtime with renewed momentum and the Stars’ home crowd was nervous, knowing one more goal would end their season.

Unfortunately, Big D became Duck City when Nick Bonino scored the game winner almost three minutes into the overtime and the Ducks once again knocked out the Dallas Stars to advance to the second round.