Ondrej Kase has been recalled by the Anaheim Ducks after less than a week in the AHL. The 21-year old forward has shown that he can compete at the highest level, and will get another chance playing alongside Antoine Vermette and Corey Perry according to Eric Stephens of the Orange Country Register. With his promotion, Nick Ritchie has been demoted to the fourth line for the time being.
Kase has 14 points in 51 games this season, a fine showing for a rookie playing less than 12 minutes a night. His possession numbers are excellent, as he has limited opponent shot opportunities while on the ice. Though his performance in that regard isn’t necessarily where his talent will lie going forward, he has already eclipsed the expectations Anaheim had when selecting him 205th overall in 2014.
- Cam Fowler was absent from practice today and underwent an MRI on the knee that was injured in a collision with Flames’ captain Mark Giordano last night. While the Ducks wouldn’t comment further on his injury, he’s considered day-to-day as they continue to evaluate him. Giordano will be given no supplementary discipline for the hit.
- The Ducks were also missing a couple of other defenders in Hampus Lindholm and Korbinian Holzer from practice. Lindholm continues to rehab an upper-body injury and is expected to rejoin the club on the ice tomorrow. Holzer on the other hand is back in Germany dealing with a personal matter and won’t return until next week at some point. With just five healthy defencemen in practice, it will be interesting to see if the team calls up a player as insurance in case Lindholm isn’t able to play tomorrow night. It seems as though every team is having trouble staying healthy as the season winds down, but losing Fowler or Lindholm would be a huge blow to the Ducks chances in the playoffs.
- Even though the Ducks are four points up in the Pacific Division, the possibility that they drop out of that first seed is still very real if they lose their next two games. Facing the Blackhawks and Kings the team needs to gain at least one point to stay ahead of the Sharks, and hope the Oilers slip up in their remaining three contests. Should they fail to do so, they would be giving up the opportunity to face off against the first wildcard spot, and instead have to take on one of San Jose or Edmonton in the first round. After defeating the Flames—who currently hold that top wildcard spot—and extending their whopping 25-game home ice win streak against Calgary last night, it’s clear which would be the best matchup.