EDMONTON, Alberta – The Ducks have the possibility of inserting winger Ondrej Kase and defenseman Kevin Bieksa into their lineup for Game 6 of the Western Conference second-round series against Edmonton on Sunday.
Ducks coach Randy Carlyle deemed the two as “options” for action but it isn’t clear if either or both will actually draw in. Kase and Bieksa did participate in the team’s optional skate Sunday morning at Rogers Place, but the Ducks did not going through their line rushes.
Of the two, Kase may be more likely to play after missing Game 5 because of a lower-body suffered early in Game 4 when he received a cross check from Oilers left wing Milan Lucic in front of the team benches. Bieksa is coming back from an apparent leg injury suffered in Game 1.
Nic Kerdiles may remain in the lineup after making his NHL playoff debut in Game 5. Logan Shaw is a question mark after appearing to hurt himself when taking a shot in the first overtime Friday.
Carlyle did rule Patrick Eaves out for a third consecutive game. Eaves was hurt in the Ducks’ 6-3 Game 3 win as he suffered a foot injury in a collision with Edmonton’s Patrick Maroon in the neutral zone.
Ducks defenseman Korbinian Holzer has returned to the team after dealing with a family situation in his native Germany. Holzer is not expected to play.
The Oilers will play Game 6 without minutes-eating defenseman Andrej Sekera, whom Edmonton coach Todd McLellan said won’t return for the balance of the series. Sekera left Game 5 in the first period after getting hit by Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf along the sideboards.
Eric Gryba is expected to make his first appearance in the series. Gryba will play on the Oilers’ third pairing with Darnell Nurse as Matt Benning will get bumped up to the second pair alongside Kris Russell.