EDMONTON, Alberta – The Ducks should have two significant additions back into their lineup Sunday night when they take on the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place.
Ryan Getzlaf and Josh Manson took part in the team’s full morning skate and figure to return to the lineup after missing some action. Manson has been out the last two games due to an upper-body injury, while Getzlaf was scratched from Friday’s game at Winnipeg due to a stomach virus.
“It was just about obviously keeping food down and stuff yesterday,” Getzlaf said. “Luckily it was only kind of a 24-hour thing. I had a rough day. By yesterday, I had already stopped and I was able to eat and go through my normal day of preparations.”
John Gibson (29-17-7, 2.42 GAA, .927 SV%) will make his second attempt at getting his first 30-win season. Gibson was stellar Friday, making 39 saves in an effort that allowed the Ducks to get a point in getting them to overtime.
Kyle Connor’s score lifted the Jets to a 3-2 win in a game that they dominated territorially over most of the 60-plus minutes. The Ducks (38-24-13) were on the wrong end of a 42-16 shot disparity and allowed Winnipeg to put 83 attempts toward the net while only getting off 35 themselves.
“We just got to get back to basics,” defenseman Cam Fowler said. “Credit to Winnipeg, they played a great game. But we made things pretty easy on them. I think getting Getzy back makes a big difference for us. It’s just an overall team mindset that we have to have.
“We weren’t moving our feet. We weren’t competing for pucks. That can’t happen at this time of the year. I’m looking for a good response out of our group.”
While he was a spectator Friday, Getzlaf echoed Fowler’s assertion.
“We got to play hockey again,” he said. “The last two games, we didn’t play very well. Even in Calgary, we gave up too many chances. We just were opportunistic in that game.
“We battled and got a point in Winnipeg. Obviously that was thanks to our goaltender. But we got to be a lot better going down the stretch here.”
With Getzlaf and Manson expected to return, Antoine Vermette and Korbinian Holzer will again be healthy scratches. Vermette played only 7:21 at center in just his second game over the last 10 contests while Holzer played 10:53 after logging 14:23 on Wednesday in Calgary.
Here is the expected lineup for the Ducks:
Rickard Rakell-Ryan Getzlaf-Corey Perry
Andrew Cogliano-Ryan Kesler-Jakob Silfverberg
Nick Ritchie-Adam Henrique-Ondrej Kase
Jason Chimera-Derek Grant-Chris Kelly
Cam Fowler-Brandon Montour
Hampus Lindholm-Josh Manson
Marcus Pettersson-Francois Beauchemin
Connor McDavid is finishing with a flourish as the Oilers (34-36-5) are trying to do the same to end an otherwise disappointing season.
McDavid scored twice Saturday night in a 3-2 win over the Kings. It moved the Edmonton superstar into the NHL scoring lead with 96 points, one more than Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov.
Looking to capture his second straight Art Ross Trophy as the points champion, McDavid needs only four points for his second straight 100-point season. He has scored 23 of his team-high 38 goals in the last 26 games.
“He makes them dangerous,” Manson said. “He’s got a lot of good tools. We’ve played against him lots. We know what to expect. Obviously he’s a special player. We just got to make sure we’re aware of him when he’s on the ice and do our best to shut him down.”
A six-game losing streak where all the defeats came in regulation buried their playoff chances, but the Oilers have been much better in recent weeks. They’ve won three straight, taken seven of their last 10 and are 11-6-1 since that losing streak.
Cam Talbot (29-27-2, 2.94 GAA, .909 SV%) will make the start on back-to-back nights. Talbot made 27 saves against the Kings on Saturday in winning his fourth straight start.
Laurent Brossoit was recalled from Bakersfield (AHL) and will back up Talbot as Al Montoya won’t be available. Montoya took a shot off the mask in his last start against Tampa Bay and it is believed that he may be dealing with linger aftereffects.
Ethan Bear is getting a long look on the Oilers’ blue line as he has played in every game and logged more than 20 minutes on four occasions since his Feb. 27 call-up from Bakersfield. Bear was an offensive dynamo in junior, scoring 28 goals and 70 points in his fourth and final Western Hockey League season with the Seattle Thunderbirds.
There are a few connections between the Ducks and Oilers. Manson and Matt Benning were teammates at Northeastern University, while Zack Kassian won a Memorial Cup with Fowler and Adam Henrique with the Ontario Hockey League’s Windsor Spitfires in 2010.
Darnell Nurse and Nick Ritchie spent some time together with the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in 2014-15.
Here is the projected lineup for the Oilers:
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins-Connor McDavid-Ty Rattie
Pontus Aberg-Leon Draisaitl-Drake Caggiula
Milan Lucic-Ryan Strome-Jesse Puljujarvi
Anton Slepyshev-Jujhar Khaira-Iiro Pakarinen
Adam Larsson-Darnell Nurse
Kris Russell-Ethan Bear
Andrej Sekera-Matt Benning
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