The first half of this week’s edition of Anaheim Ducks News & Rumors covers Max Comtois’ long-term absence, the decision to send Mason McTavish back to the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Rickard Rakell’s return from injury and much more.
Comtois Undergoes Surgery
This isn’t the season that Comtois envisioned after he broke out with 16 goals in 2020-21. The 22-year-old has just one point in 13 games and will now be on the shelf for approximately six weeks after undergoing surgery to remove a small bone from his right hand.
It will be difficult for Comtois to break his way back into the lineup upon his return with players like Sam Steel and Sam Carrick making the most of their opportunities. Jakob Silfverberg and Rakell have also recently returned from injured reserve, which means that the forward lines are becoming crowded.
McTavish Reassigned to Peterborough
In fact, there’s enough depth in this group of forwards that the Ducks felt the best decision to make when it came to McTavish was to return him back to the OHL before the first year of his contract was burned. As a slide-entry candidate, he was eligible to play nine games in the NHL before the first year of his contract kicked in. Having played exactly nine games before being returned to his OHL team, the Peterborough Petes, the first year of his contract won’t kick in until next season at the earliest.
Now that McTavish will be spending the next several months in the OHL, he will have the opportunity to play full-time in his natural position — center. He had been playing primarily as a left winger at the NHL level, alongside Isac Lundestrom and Silfverberg. McTavish didn’t look out of place during his nine games by any means––he did, of course, score his first NHL goal in his very first game––but a season of domination in the OHL should give him a big boost of confidence.
Rakell Returns from Injury
As previously mentioned, Rakell did make his return to the Ducks’ lineup on Monday night against the Nashville Predators after spending nearly a month on injured reserve. With four goals in eight games prior to his return, his scoring ability wasn’t something that had sorely been missed, but it’s always nice to have players in your lineup who are capable of putting the puck in the net on a regular basis.
Rakell skated on a line with Trevor Zegras and Sonny Milano in his first game back and created a couple of good chances throughout the game. He didn’t appear to be shying away from being physical either during his nearly 19 minutes of ice time. He tallied his fifth goal of the season midway through the second period, a shot that rang off both the post and the crossbar and tied the game at one apiece.
Henrique Leaves Nashville Game with Injury
Adam Henrique had a rollercoaster 2020-21 season after he was placed on waivers, cleared waivers, and then to finished the season second on the team in goals scored. This season, he began the season on a line with Zegras and Milano, but the chemistry he developed once being placed on a line with Troy Terry and Ryan Getzlaf has turned that line into the Ducks’ most dangerous trio.
Henrique is currently second on the team in goals scored (six) and third on the team in points (15). He suffered an upper-body injury against the Predators and was deemed questionable to return to the game (he did not return). An extended absence for him would be a big blow for the Ducks, as he is an important player for them at both ends of the ice.
Terry’s Point Streak Snapped at 16
It had to happen eventually, didn’t it? Troy Terry had his 16-game point streak snapped on Monday night. The Predators were able to neutralize Getzlaf and Terry, thanks to the efforts of Mattias Ekholm, Roman Josi and the rest of the Predators’ defense. The Preds were able to limit the amount of chances that the Ducks had on the rush and that allowed them to keep Terry out of the high-danger areas.
Though the point streak is over, the production that Terry had over the course of it gave a big boost to the Ducks, and injected a huge shot of confidence into the 24-year-old to begin the season. Continuing his good run of form will help the Ducks stick at the top of the standings.
Related: Ducks News & Rumors: Getzlaf, Zegras & More
The last pair of games have been difficult for the Ducks, as they had their eight-game winning streak snapped on Thursday night against the Carolina Hurricanes and have now lost two consecutive games after falling to the Predators last night. Though the Ducks have exceeded expectations to this point, back-to-back matchups against potential playoff contenders proved to be difficult tasks for the team. They’ll face another likely playoff contender in the Colorado Avalanche tomorrow night in Denver.
