Ducks close to full power, but still lose to Avalanche – San Bernardino Sun
The Ducks welcome Cam Fowler and Max Comtois back into their roster after Sunday afternoon’s 4-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche at the Ball Arena in Denver. However, Ryan Getzlaf was unable to play after he tested positive for COVID-19 before the game and was included in NHL protocol.
Fowler sat out the Ducks’ loss Friday to the Vegas Golden Knights with an unspecified upper-body injury during their loss Wednesday to the Vancouver Canucks. Comtois has escaped tournament protocol and has played only his second game since hand surgery in early November.
Getzlaf’s absence forced the Ducks’ coach Dallas Eakins to shuffle his lines, with Derek Grant moving up the center of their front line with Rickard Rakell and Jakob Silfverberg on the flanks. Comtois slid from the left flank, forming a line with center Isac Lundestrom and right wing Troy Terry.
Sonny Milano, Sam Steel and Vinni Lettieri formed a line-up for the second straight game, following Steel’s return from the tournament’s protocol on Friday. Nicolas Deslauriers, Sam Carrick and Buddy Robinson made up the fourth line-up, which scored the Ducks’ first goal on Sunday.
Carrick made a bounce behind Darcy Kuemper’s net to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead in the 1:55th minute of the game. Fowler then joined Comtois in a goal for power to make it 2-0 at 3:22 of the second half. Colorado’s Devon Toews and Gabriel Landeskog scored powerhouse goals to equalize 2-2.
Logan O’Connor scored Colorado’s opening goal with 1:11 remaining.
The Ducks have played again without rookie center back Trevor Zegras, who is in league protocol. Adam Henrique (lower body), Max Jones (upper body) and Josh Mahura (upper body) remain on standby. Henrique has resumed skating, but it is unclear when he will return to the sport.
Zegras was named the NHL’s rookie of the month for December, after he had 2 goals and 9 assists in 11 games.
Elliott Teaford reports from Los Angeles. This story will be updated.
https://www.sbsun.com/2022/01/02/ducks-get-closer-to-full-strength-but-still-lose-to-avalanche/ Ducks close to full power, but still lose to Avalanche – San Bernardino Sun
