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Ducks still seeking to clinch playoff spot with two games remaining

April 13, 2026

For a team that not long ago held a comfortable division lead, the array of possibilities for the Ducks’ postseason path is astonishingly ample.

They could secure a playoff berth without lifting a finger, depending on what happens in the Nashville Predators’ bout with the San Jose Sharks on Monday. They could also find themselves in a quasi play-in game against those same Preds on Thursday, if Nashville wins in any fashion Monday and the Ducks fall in regulation Tuesday, when they’ll visit the Minnesota Wild. Should the Predators beat San Jose in any fashion and the Ducks lose to Minnesota in 60 minutes’ time, the Predators would need a regulation win in Game 82, while the Ducks could make the cut with a win of any kind or an overtime loss.

The Sharks are essentially playing for pride while the Wild, locked into their playoff position, will rest key players in their season-ending set against St. Louis on Monday and against the Ducks on Tuesday.

Assuming the Ducks do qualify, they could finish in any of five different positions and face any one of five different opponents. Depending on how things shake out in the last gasps of the regular season, they could slide into any of three Pacific Division playoff slots or both the wild-card positions, and could open against the Kings, Edmonton Oilers, Vegas Golden Knights, Utah Mammoth or Colorado Avalanche.

“One at a time. We’ve got one more game, we’ll go to Minnesota and see how it goes, then we’ll talk about what happens after,” said Ducks coach Joel Quenneville, adding that there was “a good chance” he’d be watching Nashville vs. San Jose.

The Ducks lost both prior meetings with Minnesota by an aggregate count of 7-2. They’ve split with Nashville after a comfortable 5-2 win in October and then a 5-0 shelling by the Predators on April 7.

While the Ducks couldn’t avert their seventh defeat in eight games on Sunday, their second-worst stretch of the campaign to date, they did get captain Radko Gudas as well as leading point-producer and goal-scorer Cutter Gauthier back after five-game absences in an overtime loss to lowly Vancouver.

Gauthier tallied twice to complete his first 40-goal season at age 22. Corey Perry didn’t accomplish the feat until his age 25 season, when he notched 50 goals and won the Hart Trophy before adding a 43-goal effort three years later. Teemu Selänne hadn’t even reached the NHL at 22, though he’d have seven seasons of 40 or more goals, including six in Anaheim. Only Paul Kariya did it at a younger age, 21, in his first of three 40-plus-goal displays.

“Cutter scored a couple big goals for us, he was dangerous. Congratulations to him on a 40-goal year. His speed and his quick release are evident,” Quenneville said. “Gudas gave us a presence. He created the first goal with a hit and gave us some personality and leadership on the back end.”

DUCKS AT WILD

When: Tuesday, 5 p.m.

Where: Grand Casino Arena, St. Paul, Minn.

How to watch: KCOP (Ch. 13), Victory+

Orange County Register

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Ducks still seeking to clinch playoff spot with two games remaining

DUCKS AT WILD

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