The Hockey News' Derek Lee previews the Ducks' matchup against the Edmonton Oilers.
Anaheim's first game out of the post-Olympics break comes against the Edmonton Oilers. Connor McDavid traveled to Anaheim with the Oilers and will re-assume his spot on the top line. There were questions about whether McDavid—who just played in the gold medal game for Canada at the Winter Olympics on Sunday—would play with a back-to-back being the Oilers’ first game out of the break.
The Ducks have received reinforcements of their own in the form of Jackson LaCombe—who arrived from Team USA’s gold medal celebration in Miami on Tuesday—and Leo Carlsson, who is playing in his first game since undergoing a procedure on Jan. 16 to treat a Morel-Lavallée lesion on his left thigh.
Mikael Granlund, who captained Finland to a bronze medal, is out with an upper-body, but is expected to skate tomorrow and could be an option for Friday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets, per head coach Joel Quenneville. Frank Vatrano is away from the team for personal reasons and was not present at Tuesday’s morning skate.
Jan 10, 2026; Buffalo, New York, USA; Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson (91) celebrates his goal with teammates during the third period against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images“It feels good,” Carlsson said of his thigh. “I’ve been (in Anaheim) over the break, so haven't really done anything else but working out. It’s been good.”
“He’s looked good in practice every day,” Quenneville said. “He's gotten better and better and looks good.”
LaCombe will play despite just having the morning skate with the team. He, along with four other members of Team USA forewent an invitation to the White House on Tuesday, which also included an invitation to the State of the Union.
“It was such an honor, but I just wanted to be back here for the game, and it was a tight window, so I couldn't really make it work. That was the only reason why, I just wanted to be ready to go, back with these guys.”
“Coming out of the break, we have big games and everybody's in the same territory as far as fighting for playoff positioning,” Quenneville said. “The two points are huge. Every game's going to be like a playoff game, so I think we want to approach it as getting something out of the games is critical. And we had some momentum going into it. Let's try to establish that coming out of it. But I liked our practicing the last couple of days. Morning skate was good as well. The guys are ready to play for keeps.”
“There’s going to be a letdown, there’s no doubt about it,” McDavid said about adjusting from the rigors and pressure of the Olympics and a gold medal game to regular season games in the NHL. “It's my job to limit that, though. I've got to find a way to get going here. These are important games. These are important wins for us and we’ve got to get going.”
Ducks Projected Lines
Alex Killorn - Leo Carlsson - Beckett Sennecke
Chris Kreider - Ryan Poehling - Troy Terry
Jeff Viel - Mason McTavish - Cutter Gauthier
Ross Johnston - Tim Washe - Jansen Harkins
Jackson LaCombe - Jacob Trouba
Pavel Mintyukov - Ian Moore
Olen Zellweger - Radko Gudas
Lukáš Dostál (confirmed)
Oilers Projected Lines
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Connor McDavid - Zach Hyman
Matt Savoie - Leon Draisaitl - Jack Roslovic
Vasily Podkolzin - Adam Henrique - Trent Frederic
Andrew Mangiapane - Curtis Lazar - Mattias Janmark
Mattias Ekholm - Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse - Jake Walman
Spencer Stastney - Ty Emberson
Tristan Jarry (confirmed)