Shea Theodore welcomes his late-season opportunity to fill in with the Ducks

To say it took a long time for Shea Theodore to get back to the Ducks is an understatement on more than one level.

The defenseman was summoned Saturday night to join the Ducks in Calgary, Canada, after he played in back-to-back games with the San Diego Gulls in Tucson.

“We were about to leave and they just kind of kicked me off [the bus],” Theodore said.

His 7 a.m. flight to San Francisco on Sunday was delayed, and then his flight to Calgary was delayed. Theodore arrived about two hours before Sunday’s game, his third in as many nights, and played nearly 18 minutes in a 4-3 win against the Flames.

His services were needed after upper-body injuries to Sami Vatanen and Hampus Lindholm, who are day to day. It was the first time Theodore, 21, played three games in three nights since the tail end of his junior hockey career. But he welcomed being dropped into an intense, late-season situation.

“I just feel like those are the games that you want to get into down the stretch,” he said. “You want to be one of the guys that they can trust going into playoffs, and even in playoffs, if anything happens.”

Theodore could be reassigned when Lindholm and Vatanen become available. Lindholm said Monday that he had a previous issue that “got exposed” Saturday, and “I’ll see how I feel [Tuesday] and we’ll take it from there.”

But Sunday was an important turn in an up-and-down season for Theodore, considered the Ducks’ top defenseman prospect going into this season. He was banged up some in San Diego, and Brandon Montour has been a regular instead of Theodore, who understands the situation.

“They’re going to go with guys that they’ve been sticking with,” Theodore said. “It was a matter of getting back to 100% and kind of just waiting for the opportunity. That’s all you can really do, and I felt I took it and ran with it [Sunday] night.”

NEXT UP

DUCKS VS. CALGARY FLAMES

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

On the air: TV: Prime; Radio: 710.

Update: The Ducks have won 24 straight regular-season games against Calgary at Honda Center, the longest home winning streak against one opponent in NHL history. Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau has a nine-game point streak.

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