Ducks face Ottawa looking for opportunity amid injuries

When the Ducks and their opponent today, the Ottawa Senators, clashed in Canada’s capital on Feb. 15, the Ducks won 5-1 behind two goals from local product Mason Mctavish.

Mctavish will be out tonight due to a lower-body injury that has him in a walking boot. He’ll join fellow top-10 picks Leo Carlsson (upperbody) and Trevor Zegras (ankle) in the pressbox.

For Coach Greg Cronin, it’s been another series of chances to transform “chaos into opportunity,” as he’s fond of saying.

“These injuries and these absences create opportunities for guys. Organizationally, you can find a diamond in the rough when this happens,” Cronin said. “So, you don’t change anything that you’re coaching or how you coach, you just try to give these guys an opportunity and hold them to the same standard.”

The Ducks have also been without winger Brock Mcginn for over a month and in addition to countless injuries have also dealt with departures from their blue line via trade. Cronin said losing players was “part of the business,” including deals that sent away rearguards Jamie Drysdale

and Ilya Lyubushkin for futures without “getting a body back.”

They could be dealing with that reality once again if faceoff-savvy forward Adam Henrique, who missed the net in the dying gasps of a 2-1 loss to Vancouver on Sunday, ships out as anticipated. He’s the foremost among the Ducks players expected to be traded before Friday’s noon deadline. Frank Vatrano, who leads the Ducks in goals and notched three points against the Senators, has also been a player of interest, albeit at what Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Monday would be a very high price.

The defense corps as currently configured pairs the longest-tenured Duck Cam Fowler –– who took a puck to the face in San Jose, missed one game and then returned despite a laceration and swelling for the Vancouver matchup –– and its least seasoned member, rookie Olen Zellweger.