There is a growing expectation that the Anaheim Ducks will return forward Mikael Granlund to the lineup tomorrow. According to Derek Lee of The Hockey News, Granlund was a full participant at practice this morning and centered the team’s second line.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean the Ducks will have a complete lineup. In a separate report from Lee, he indicated that recent acquisition John Carlson remains working his way back from a lower-body injury and isn’t expected to debut tomorrow.
At any rate, it’ll be a decent boost for Anaheim to get Granlund back into the lineup. He has been oft-injured this year, appearing in only 38 games, scoring 12 goals and 27 points. Still, the Ducks will need all the depth they can as they continue their playoff push.
Additional notes from the Pacific Division:
- Per Jason R. Pothier and Ken Boehlke of SinBin, General Manager Kelly McCrimmon provided a few updates on several key injuries to the Vegas Golden Knights. Regarding the forward corps, McCrimmon said the team only expects captain Mark Stone to miss the next few days. Additionally, the Golden Knights haven’t placed forward William Karlsson on season-ending long-term injured reserve, but will have to make it to the semifinals if they want to see him again this season. Lastly, McCrimmon added that netminder Carter Hart is still a few weeks away from returning.
- The San Jose Sharks retained their numerous pending unrestricted free agents through the deadline as their own rentals, rewarding the team’s performance so far. Speaking with Curtis Pashelka of Mercury News, General Manager Mike Grier said, “So it kind of felt like it was the best thing to do, in all fairness to them, to kind of keep the group together and see how the rest of the season goes.” Regardless, that didn’t stop teams from making calls, specifically regarding Mario Ferraro and John Klingberg.