Key forward Troy Terry returns to practice Wednesday, boosting the Ducks' offense and potentially solidifying their new defensive approach.
The Anaheim Ducks are set to wrap up their five-game road trip on Thursday with a game against the Vancouver Canucks.
They’ve been without a trio of their top offensive contributors in their top six for the duration of the trip. Leo Carlsson has missed the last eight games with a lesion in his thigh, Troy Terry has missed the last ten games with an upper-body injury, and Mason McTavish went on the trip with the team, but was a late scratch for the first game of the road trip on Jan 21 with an upper-body injury after taking regular warmup reps.
The Ducks embarked on the trip riding a four-game winning streak, and extended it to seven by winning their first three games of the trip. They had their streak snapped on Monday with a 7-4 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.
Carlsson is scheduled to return to the Ducks' lineup following the Olympic break. McTavish returned to Southern California.
The Ducks will receive some good news this week, as The Hockey News has been told that Terry has rejoined the team in Vancouver and will practice on Wednesday afternoon. It can be speculated that he’s nearing a return.
Terry has been their most consistent offensive player this season, scoring 42 points (13-29=42) in 43 games, including seven points (3-4=7) in five games before he was forced from the lineup.
Whether it was due to the injuries or not, the Ducks have been playing a more refined and compact defensive style, more selective when choosing when to support, pinch, or pressure. They took a step back in that department in their latest game against Edmonton, but we’ll soon discover if that was due to them playing on the second night of a back-to-back against one of the Western Conference juggernauts.
It will be curious to monitor if their new defense-focused style will continue upon Terry’s upcoming return, and eventually, McTavish and Carlsson’s returns as well. As one of the Ducks’ better 200-foot forwards, Terry can provide a boost to their efforts in the offensive zone as well as improve his line’s overall defensive habits.