Leo Carlsson to Return From Injury Against Ottawa Senators

For the first time in a little over two weeks, Leo Carlsson will suit up for an NHL game. The big Swede had been out with an undisclosed upper-body injury that he suffered against the Seattle Kraken on Nov. 25 after a hit from Tye Kartye.

The Ducks went 2-3-1 in Carlsson’s absence, with their latest result a 3-2 shootout loss to the Montréal Canadiens in Montreal. With Trevor Zegras out due to injury and requiring re-evaluation to determine the extent of his injury, the Ducks have struggled for creativity with both Carlsson and Zegras out of the lineup.

Troy Terry has been carrying the mail offensively of late, but could do with some assistance from a playmaking standpoint. Having Carlsson back in the lineup should help take some of that responsibility off of Terry.

Related: Leo Carlsson Named to Sweden's 4 Nation Face-Off Roster

It is currently unknown which line Carlsson will center, but an educated guess would be seeing him reunite with Cutter Gauthier and Alex Killorn, two players that he has previously skated on a line with this season.

Mason McTavish has struggled as the incumbent no. 1 center and could benefit from having a reduced role as he continues to get up to speed after recently returning from an upper-body injury as well.

Carlsson, who is in his sophomore season, has 11 points in 20 games. He is currently 25 games away from 100 NHL games played.