Quack of Dawn: Ducks Morning Report - 02/18

The Hockey News’ Derek Lee reports from the Ducks’ practice.

The Ducks returning to practice on Tuesday afternoon means that the 4 Nations Face-Off break is almost over.

Every healthy Ducks player was accounted for at practice aside from Leo Carlsson, who is still with Team Sweden. In Carlsson's absence, Isac Lundeström was elevated to the top line. Here's how the lines shook out:

In seasons past, the All-Star break has given players the opportunity for a short rest before jumping back into the action. The 4 Nations Face-Off has allowed players to not only get away from the game for a bit, but also return home for a few days after and prepare for games again.

Ryan Strome and Trevor Zegras were among several players who traveled to Mexico during the break. Both acknowledged the privilege of having more time off to be at home after coming back from vacation.

"It was nice to have some time off when you get back," Zegras said. "(You) usually jump right back into the mix, so it's nice to chill out for a couple days, get the body back to neutral and then get back after it.”

“"It's been a few years since we've had an extended break like this, so it's nice," Strome said. "Getting home from Mexico and having a couple extra days to rest and take care of the body and have a bunch of good sleeps instead of being a little bit nervous about coming to the rink. You're almost anxious to get back and you're excited. Really good energy in practice today and I think that everyone is rejuvenated and ready to go. Hopefully, we can kind of pick up where we left off."

The Ducks won six of their last seven games heading into the break, outscoring their opponents 24-15 during that span while continuing to receive stellar goaltending from both John Gibson and Lukáš Dostál.

The chances of a playoff berth are slim, with the Ducks being nine points back of the Vancouver Canucks for the second wild Card spot, but Strome believes that the team even being in a position to compete for a playoff spot this deep into the season is uncharted territory.

"The last two years at this point in the season, we've just been pretty much out of it," Strome said. “At this point, we have to really understand that the games are going to tighten up. I think a lot of the games are gonna be like the last few we've had (before the break): 2-1, 3-1. It's going to be tight games and we're going to need to find ways to win and it's going to be good for our team to kind of experience the challenge over the next 28 games as a group.

"Obviously, there's some guys that have played in the playoffs and have felt that intensity, but as a group, we haven't really experienced that as a whole. So, it would be good to kind of ramp it up here. Just continue to get spread-out offense and have good special teams, we've had great goaltending all year. I think those are the keys. Just keep going and try to build on this momentum and build some confidence with this group of guys."

"I'd like to help out the goalies a little bit more," Zegras said. Dos and Gibby have been amazing, big reason why we're running these close games. I think we can give them some more goals, make their job a little bit easier. Just the way that we're playing, the way we're forechecking and the way we're playing for each other has been awesome, so hopefully we can keep that going."

The Ducks will practice again on Wednesday morning at Great Park Ice before heading to the East Coast ahead of Saturday's game against the Boston Bruins, the beginning of a three-game road trip.