Ducks’ Mikael Granlund set to return after 10-game absence
A veteran presence is ready to jump back in the lineup in Orange County.
When speaking to the media, Anaheim Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville confirmed that forward Mikael Granlund will return to the lineup on Friday night, when the team plays host to the Washington Capitals.
Joel Quenneville confirmed that Mikael Granlund (lower-body) will be in tonight. #FlyTogether
Granlund was seen participating in the Ducks’ morning skate, taking lines rushes on the third line, centering Frank Vatrano and Ryan Strome, who is set to play after being a healthy scratch for the past two games as well.
It would be Granlund’s first appearance in 10 games thanks to a lower-body injury that has kept him out for the past three weeks. The Finnish center missed close to a month earlier this season due to an injury that he suffered in late October. He has missed 18 of the team’s first 27 games this season.
During Granlund’s latest absence, the Ducks have stayed afloat. Following a 7-0 drubbing at the hands of the Utah Mammoth, Anaheim went 5-5-0 over its past 10 games, but still remains at the top of the Pacific Division.
In his limited time with the Ducks thus far, Granlund has been effective. In nine games, he has scored three goals and six assists for nine points. In his last game on Nov. 13, he scored a goal in a 6-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
The 33-year-old moved back to Southern California after finishing the 2024-25 season with the Dallas Stars, who he was traded to from the San Jose Sharks before the trade deadline. Granlund then signed a three-year contract with the Ducks, with a deal that’ll carry an AAV of $7 million through the 2027-28 campaign.
The Ducks (16-10-1) have a one-point lead over the Vegas Golden Knights for first in the Pacific.