ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Ducks have just 11 games remaining on the schedule including tonight’s home affair with the Winnipeg Jets. Nikita Nesterenko, who made his NHL debut on Tuesday against Calgary, will be back in the lineup again for his second career NHL game.
“He was kind of the only bright light the other night,” said head coach Dallas Eakins. “I thought he played well, I thought he skated well in the game. He wasn’t shy at all.” Eakins also liked that Nesterenko didn’t defer to his teammates at every waking moment and that he didn’t try to force the puck into areas. He finished the game with four shots on goal, tied for most on the team with Frank Vatrano, and two of those shots came close to becoming the 21-year-old’s first NHL goal.
Isac Lundeström, who played in his 200th NHL game on Sunday against Vancouver, centered the line that Nesterenko was on. Along with Jakob Silfverberg, the trio was trotted out as the starting lineup against the Flames.
“Yes, of course, it’s a dream come true to play in the NHL,” said Lundeström. “You dream about that since you were a little kid. Obviously, it’s a really cool thing to do, so I’m very proud of that.”
“(Silfverberg and I) talked to (Nesterenko) a little bit. Silfvy talked the most about it, but I said a couple of things that he can think about. Calgary is fighting for their lives for a playoff spot so we knew they were going to be hard and (it would be) a really tough game. But I think he did a really good job and we tried to talk on the bench, before the game and out there (on the ice) so I think he did a good job.”
“We’ll see what tonight brings because, to me, Calgary and Winnipeg are built very similarly,” said Eakins. “Just looking down the middle there, they’ve got three big centermen and then they’ve got a couple of big wingers. It’s going to be another good test for the young man tonight.”
Mason McTavish is one player that Eakins has pushed Nesterenko to follow in terms of good habits. McTavish is always the first one on the ice for practice and the last one off, sometimes even coming off 30 minutes later than everyone else.
“If you can get on the ice at the same time that (McTavish) does before practice and then leave the ice when he and Zegras leave… Z’s another one right? He’ll stay out there all day working on his skills, his shot, you know, whatever it is. (Those habits) become contagious through the group.
Another player who has the kind of good habits that McTavish does that Eakins mentioned is Jamie Drysdale, who is currently recovering from shoulder surgery. While he was on the ice on Tuesday in full gear, Eakins today confirmed that Drysdale will not play another game this season.
“Even if (the medical staff) came in and said that he was ready to play, I would scratch him every night. That kid is a real key piece of our future. He is dying to be out there, he is dying to play. I was coming off the ice and I saw him going the other way with a pair of gloves and shoes on. He was going to go fool around on the ice. He is dying to play.”
“It would be different if we were a playoff team or something like that. But where we’re at and the risk versus reward, (that) is not worth it. Number one, for him––it’s always about the player first––and it’s certainly not great for the organization either.”
The possibility of a return this season for Adam Henrique is slightly brighter. Eakins said that a conversation will have to be had with Henrique about what his body can handle and how to go about things for the rest of the year.
“He’s working towards it and that one’s different to me. He is incredible at understanding what kind of load he needs to put on it every day. As he inches closer–he’s been on the ice a little bit now–that’ll be more of a conversation with him on what he’s comfortable doing.”
