Fresh off his second consecutive All-Star appearance, Troy Terry was ready to continue his excellent form in the second half of the season. Unfortunately, he played all but two minutes of the Ducks’ first game back from the break against Dallas after Miro Heiskanen’s stick found a vulnerable spot in Terry’s rib area.

He immediately skated to the bench in discomfort and did not return for the rest of the game. He missed their matchup against Chicago the following night and was not on the ice for Wednesday’s practice. On Friday, the team announced that he had been placed on injured reserve.

All hands on deck

It’s not up to one player to solely fill the hole left behind by Terry’s absence. That will have to be done “by committee”, as Ryan Strome said after Wednesday’s practice. “You can never replace a guy like him,” said Strome. “When someone goes out it kind of bumps everyone else up a little bit, so just a good opportunity for guys.”

Strome is one of those players who could help do the job. In Terry’s absence, he was elevated to the top line alongside Adam Henrique and Trevor Zegras. Strome has spent time playing on Zegras’ wing at points throughout the season and he could remain there due to Mason McTavish’s quick adjustment to the NHL.

With the recent return of Derek Grant, Anaheim now has more than four centers––the amount necessary for a full lineup––in Zegras, Henrique, McTavish, Grant and Isac Lundestrom among others. None of the players mentioned are unfamiliar with playing on the wing either, as each of them has been shifted to that spot at one point or another in their pro careers.

Henrique in particular could shoulder the brunt of responsibility as the veteran is in the midst of one of his best seasons as a pro. He leads the team in goals with 19 and is third on the team in points. He’s been a fixture on the power play for almost the entirety of his Ducks tenure and has been one of their most consistent players since being acquired from the New Jersey Devils in 2017.

Head coach Dallas Eakins pointed to Henrique as someone whose contributions are important, though they sometimes go unnoticed. “Little things like driving the net,” said Eakins. “That usually takes somebody with you, that opens up space. There’s a lot of little plays that are literally one and two-foot plays with the puck that go unnoticed that are extremely difficult to make.”

“When you look at what Adam does for our team––we started using him on the penalty kill more (and) our penalty kill got better. He’s been a staple on our power play. He’s maybe one of the top bumpers in the league. He wins faceoffs. He does everything well and it’s always interesting those little things—they’re usually very big things. It’s the little things that win you hockey games and it makes me smile because we say it too—these little things they’re huge. They’re absolutely massive.”

Others like Frank Vatrano and Jakob Silfverberg will have to help fill the void. Vatrano has gone through rough patches in his first season with Anaheim after signing a three-year deal in the offseason, but he’s turned it up as of late with eight points in his last eight games––which includes his first Ducks hat trick. The team leader in shots, he’s currently on pace to have the most productive season of his career in regards to total points.

For Silverberg, the most important thing is that he’s healthy. After having the last two seasons cut short due to various health issues, the Swede has appeared in all but one of Anaheim’s games this season. His offensive production has dwindled since the Ducks’ days of being perennial playoff contenders but with the team on the upswing recently, so too has Silfverberg. With three points in the last five games, he’s nearly doubled his points total for the season.

Looking down south for help

The Ducks could also look to their minor league affiliate down I-5 for reinforcements. To say it has been a rough season for the Gulls would be an understatement, as they currently sit bottom of their division by a wide margin. Pavol Regenda could be an option with his 17 points in 28 AHL games. Regenda made the Ducks’ roster out of training camp and scored his first NHL goal on Nov. 9. He has just three points in 14 NHL games, but he also brings size at 6-foot-4––something the Ducks are currently lacking in.

Terry’s placement on injured reserve is retroactive to Monday, which means the earliest he would be able to return is next week against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday. However, Dallas Eakins expressed concern to The Orange County Register’s Lisa Dillman that the injury was more of a week-to-week affair rather than something that Terry could return from right away.