Kevin Bieksa might return from injury to play for Ducks on Sunday

Elder statesman to the rescue for the Ducks?

Rescue might be too extreme a description, but the Ducks’ defense is banged up and veteran Kevin Bieksa could make a timely return Sunday in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against Nashville.

Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau said Bieksa is “eligible” to return from an upper-body injury that has kept him out since March 24. The Ducks went down to five defensemen Friday when Josh Manson was knocked out of Game 1 by a hit from Filip Forsberg.

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Boudreau said Manson has a head and upper-body injury and didn’t yet know Saturday a timeline for his absence. If he does return, Bieksa, 34, would bring 71 games of playoff experience with him.

“Well, he’s been through the wars,” Boudreau said. “He’s been in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final [in 2011], so, I mean, experience, if it’s anything, will indicate that he’d be good at it.”

Friday’s 3-2 loss was a reminder of Anaheim’s youth on defense. The Ducks are the first team since the 1991 Montreal Canadiens to start six defensemen 24 or younger in a playoff game. Manson and Shea Theodore made their playoff debuts, and Cam Fowler, Simon Despres, Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen had played a combined 112 playoff games.

Bieksa was tight-lipped about his status. He has practiced for several days, and Boudreau called him a game-time decision before Game 1. The Ducks also have Korbinian Holzer.

“We’ll see [Sunday],” Bieksa said. “You know the drill.”

Bieksa said it was difficult to sit and watch the game on television. The Ducks’ defense committed 10 of the Ducks’ 20 giveaways. Despres was stripped on a play that led to the game-winning goal, off Theodore’s skate.

Vatanen played 27 minutes 31 seconds, the most he’s logged in a regulation game in his career. Fowler’s 28:31 minutes of ice time were his most in regulation game this season.

Boudreau agreed that this is test for his defense “but we think they’re six pretty good defensemen, so we expect as much out of them as we would expect out of anybody at any age.”

The Ducks worked forwards Rickard Rakell and David Perron back into the lineup after they missed a combined 18 games because of surgery and injury, respectively. Boudreau said they might have needed time to adjust to playoff pace but he was more concerned about an overall underachieving series opener. He declined to answer when asked if goalie John Gibson earned another start.

“When you’re used to a seeing a team play a certain way, we didn’t see that [Friday],” Boudreau said. “I don’t know the reasoning behind it, but hopefully we’re better [Sunday].”

Theodore, 20, acknowledged a couple of his mistakes in his debut but took it as a learning experience. He was the victim of a bad bounce while defending on the game winner.

Theodore was confident the defense will respond.

“If we can come together as a group and overcome the challenges we face every game, I feel like we should be good,” he said.

Follow Curtis Zupke on Twitter @CurtisZupke