The physical toll of the Stanley Cup playoffs has seen Anaheim rely on AHL San Diego a few times already.
Now, the Ducks are at it again.
Ahead of Wednesday’s Game 7 against the Oilers, Anaheim recalled Sam Carrick from the Gulls and, per the O.C. Register, Carrick was centering today’s fourth line in rushes.
Nate Thompson, who played just 8:44 in the Game 6 loss to Edmonton, didn’t skate today. It’s been reported he may have suffered a shoulder injury in the Calgary series. Also absent were forwards Patrick Eaves and Logan Shaw, both classified as “highly questionable” by head coach Randy Carlyle for Game 7.
Carrick, 25, could make both his Anaheim and Stanley Cup playoff debut in Game 7. A former Toronto draftee, he appeared in 19 games for the Leafs before getting signed by Chicago, then flipped to the Ducks at this year’s trade deadline.
He’s spent all of his time in San Diego, scoring 11 points in 15 regular season games, then registering another four in seven playoff contests.
Anaheim has already used 15 different forwards this postseason, including farmhands Ondrej Kase and Nic Kerdiles. Kase was banged up earlier in the Edmonton series, but was healthy enough to be considered an “option” by Carlyle for Game 6 (Kase was ultimately scratched so the Ducks could dress seven defensemen).
Kerdiles, recalled four days ago, played each of the last two games while averaging just over 10 minutes per night.