Anaheim Ducks Daily Links: Thunderous Afternoon Clash

Good morning, Anaheim Ducks fans! It’s gameday for the third time on this five-game road-trip for the Ducks, who take on the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are tied with the Detroit Red Wings for the most points in the Eastern Conference. It will hopefully be an incredible game: Tampa Bay is seen by many as one of the strongest clubs out East, both for their firepower and depth. Teams are often tested against their best opponents, and the Ducks will need to be better than they have been in their past few contests to have the best chance to succeed.

Ryan Getzlaf has missed both games thus far on the road-trip with an undisclosed lower-body injury. He has taken part in practices the past couple of days, but he is anticipated to be a game-time decision. The Ducks called up William Karlsson, who appeared in his first game on Friday against the Washington Capitals since November 16th against the Florida Panthers.

Even without the Getzlaf injury, the Ducks were experimenting with all sorts of lineup shuffles to try and get players going. Rene Bourque was moved back to the top-line, while Patrick Maroon slotted down to the fourth line. Matt Beleskey took shifts away from usual linemate Ryan Kesler, while Andrew Cogliano made a rare appearance in a top-six role.

This is a return for Nate Thompson, who had spent parts of five seasons with the Lightning before being acquired in the offseason by the Ducks. If he plays, Eric Brewer will also make his first appearance against the Lightning, his former team for the parts of the past five seasons, before the Ducks acquired him in November. The Lightning’s depth made both players expendable, but both players are solid role-players for the Ducks, with Thompson acting as a key faceoff-specialist and primary penalty-kill option while Brewer acts as the team’s seventh defenseman.

Here are some Ducks and NHL news to get the morning started.