IRVINE, Calif. — Different players have stepped up for the Anaheim Ducks at different times during this run to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. It reflects their balance. No Duck reached 70 points during the regular season, but six had 50 or more. Five others contributed between 33 and 41 points.

It hasn’t been one or two players carrying them in their series against the Vegas Golden Knights. Beckett Sennecke became the first Ducks rookie to score in four consecutive games. Cutter Gauthier has five assists in the last two contests. Alex Killorn and Mikael Granlund scored in their Game 4 victory. Mason McTavish assisted on both their goals in Game 5 after being a healthy scratch earlier in the series. Olen Zellweger recently joined the playoff lineup and scored a late score-tying goal Tuesday.

Missing from that group is the top line of Leo Carlsson, Troy Terry and Chris Kreider. The three haven’t made the scoresheet since a Game 3 loss when they combined for an inconsequential third-period goal after Vegas had built a 5-0 lead. They’ve remained together even as Ducks coach Joel Quenneville has moved personnel on other lines out of choice or necessity.

With a must-win Game 6 on Thursday to keep their season alive, it’s time for the trio to take the baton and give the Ducks a difference-making performance.

“I think that line’s, the last couple or three games, have been just OK,” Quenneville said Wednesday. “We need something more, maybe from, we’ll say, all three of them as a line. I think we should expect that line to be contributing.”

In the Golden Knights’ 3-2 overtime victory Tuesday, McTavish and Gauthier each assisted on the Ducks’ goals by Sennecke and Zellweger, driving the offense even after losing center Ryan Poehling, who won’t be available for Game 6 and possibly longer if Anaheim wins. Poehling was helped off the ice in the first period after a late hit by Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb, who was suspended by the NHL for Thursday’s contest.

Carlsson played over 19 minutes in Game 5 and had six shot attempts. The 21-year-old’s best chance came in the second period when he made a terrific move on Knights defenseman Shea Theodore and flipped a backhand shot on goalie Carter Hart that went wide of the net.

Terry and Kreider did not fare well, combining for just four shot attempts — Terry had two on goal, and Kreider had two blocked. Each was beaten on turnovers that led to Vegas goals by Pavel Dorofeyev, including the overtime winner. Neither appears to be near full health. Terry is regularly skipping Anaheim’s morning skates for maintenancey. Kreider, who dealt with injuries last season with the New York Rangers, has labored.

Quenneville leaned heavily on Sennecke, who played 24:13 to lead all Ducks forwards in Game 5, and Killorn, Granlund and Gauthier, all of whom played more than 20 minutes. Carlsson and Terry have combined for seven goals, and each has 10 points in their 11 playoff games, but most of that damage was done in the first round against Edmonton.

The Ducks have yet to lose two playoff games in a row, which must continue Thursday to force a Game 7. When NHL coaches want more from their stars in stressful situations, they’ll typically say they need their best players to be their best players. Quenneville said he’s “not a fan of that statement.” He also doesn’t mind his balanced group taking turns as to who leads the way.

“I’ve heard it so many times that it gets worn out, but at the same time, it always has got a lot of importance to it,” he said. “At the same we expect everybody to contribute. Whoever is going to be the leaders, or the guy, the hero, or whatever, it’s could be shared responsibility by a line or defense or a group of forwards or goalie.

“We just want everybody to feel like a part of it. They all made their contribution, and that stuff sorts itself out.”

Carlsson, who worked to make things happen in Game 5, scored his one goal in this series in the Ducks’ 3-1 Game 2 victory. The best players being at their best in a crucial game is something Killorn agreed with, but the winger said that isn’t limited to their No. 1 center.

“He’s definitely capable,” Killorn said. “When I say best players, I don’t mean one or two guys. Like, we do have a ton of depth, and that’s kind of the nice part about our team. We’ve been able to kind of find offense from all different lines. Whether that’s Cutter, Beckett, Leo, (Jackson) LaCombe, Troy, those guys are certainly our best players. (Lukas) Dostal. We look to them just as we do all season to help us with offense and kind of being momentum changers.”

In the aftermath of Tuesday’s loss, Quenneville has invoked the memory of the 2015 Western Conference final, when his Chicago Blackhawks lost a Game 5 in Anaheim early in overtime and were facing elimination. The Blackhawks won games 6 and 7 to advance to the Stanley Cup Final, where they would beat the Tampa Bay Lightning. “There’s still a lot of hockey left,” he said.

That’s become a motivational tool in the Ducks’ quest to beat the Golden Knights.

“You can draw parallels to that series and this series now,” said Killorn, who was on that Lightning team. “Obviously, it was in the conference finals, but it was a similar type situation that Chicago was in. There’s plenty of instances where these things have happened. I know one thing is they don’t want to go back to Vegas and play a Game 7, so we’re hoping to do that.”