The Ducks haven’t had the best start to the campaign with a 5-6-0 record, but thankfully they’ll be getting some help back soon. Head coach Joel Quenneville says Pavel Mintyukov remains day-to-day, while Ian Moore has resumed skating, and star forward Troy Terry is “getting close” to his season debut after hip surgery, all reported by Derek Lee of The Hockey News.
Out of the bunch the biggest addition will be Terry, who turned in 57 points in 61 games, on pace for the best season as a pro and even above his All Star days from 2021-23. Undergoing the procedure last June it was estimated that he’d be out until at least late November, now seeming to be on track for an earlier return.
The Ducks have had to rotate various forwards into their top six including 2019 draftees Nikita Nesterenko and Judd Caulfield. As a result the group currently has the ninth worst offense in the league as Leo Carlsson does the heavy lifting, proving his tremendous value with 13 points in 11 games.
Equally thin on the back end, thankfully rookie Noah Warren has made the most of the opportunity as he’s expected to line up on the top pairing alongside Jackson LaCombe tonight. Anaheim has put a lot on LaCombe’s plate, currently averaging over 26 minutes a night as the undisputed #1.
Mintyukov landed on IR last week with an apparent lower-body injury. The 22-year-old Russian is a promising top-four with skill for his 6’2″ frame, looking to take another step forward after his five year extension carrying a $7.2MM AAV.
The Ducks will need him to play up to that value considering all the defensemen they lost over the summer. Finally, Moore also has a lower-body ailment.
The 6’3″ righty turned in his first full-time NHL campaign last season, averaging 13:40 a night across his 67 games and offering 12 points. The dependable shot blocker has the chance to hold down a top-four role this season.
Looking to reach .500 with a win over the 2-10-1 Canucks tonight, Thursday’s action against Buffalo may be too soon for any of the three to return, but there should be some good news by the weekend.
Elsewhere across the league:
Nashville defenseman William Trudeau has resumed skating but there’s still no timeline for his return, head coach Andrew Brunette told the media including Senior Content Manager Brooks Bratten. Picked up off waivers from the Rangers in late September, Trudeau got into three games for Nashville, the first of his career, only to go down with an upper-body injury against the team who drafted him, Montreal.
Since then the Preds haven’t stopped their shuffling on the back end with adding left-handers, trading for Jayden Struble and also claiming Minnesota’s Daemon Hunt from the wire two days ago. By the time he comes off injured reserve, there’s no longer a clear spot even into their top seven.
Veteran Ilya Lyubushkin made his Preds debut last week after landing on waivers out of camp. The 32-year-old righty may land back on the outside eventually as they turn to Trudeau and other younger options.
Gearing up for the Battle of Alberta tomorrow night at home, the Oilers are looking at a return for Mattias Ekholm and Jason Dickinson, team Digital Content Producer Jamie Umbach wrote. Despite reports that Ekholm was dealing with a suspected concussion three days ago, Umbach shared that the 36-year-old cleared protocol and has yet to be diagnosed with one across his 976 game career to this point.
The Swede has just three points in 10 games so far, a step back from his 41 in 82 games last year. Still, he hardly needs to contribute in that area as a steady sidekick to the league’s top scoring blueliner in Evan Bouchard.
Meanwhile, Dickinson was activated off IR earlier this month from a nagging ankle injury, only to get through that and encounter a groin ailment from practice. Frustratingly only managing three games so far, coming away with an assist on 12:12 a night, Dickinson is a shutdown pivot who leads the penalty kill in efforts to free up Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to drive the offense as usual.
Somewhat surprisingly last year the Flames had the upper hand, taking three of the four matchups. Edmonton hopes both key veterans will be back on the way to kicking 2026-27 off 1-0 in the rivalry.