By Lisa Dillman and Daniel Nugent-Bowman (The Athletic)
LOS ANGELES — Thursday just happened to be the fifth anniversary of The Comeback on Katella, the playoff game wedged in the hearts of Anaheim Ducks fans and the game still capable of generating nightmares for Edmonton Oilers fans.
To review: The Ducks scored three times in the final 3:16 — with coach Randy Carlyle pulling goalie John Gibson for an extra attacker three times — to send Game 5 into overtime. And it took double overtime to decide it with Ryan Getzlaf setting up Corey Perry.
Now, this was early in the Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl era. The Oilers would then crush the Ducks in Game 6, winning, 7-1, and Anaheim managed to contain McDavid and Draisaitl in a 2-1 victory in Game 7.
“Once you get it going your way or it goes away from you, a lot of times it’s very difficult to get it back,” said Carlyle in an interview with The Athletic on Thursday.
“I’ve learned over the years usually you have to create some sort of event within the game or something to shake things up to a point where some kind of an event happens that you’re able to turn the tide or stem the tide.
“That’s the quality and the star power of the players that are in the game. When things go their way, they can dominate. You’ve got to find ways to stem that and stop it.”
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