Players Ready for Crucial Western Stretch

Although it’s only November, with five months to go before the Stanley Cup playoffs, there is no denying the importance of the next three weeks for the Mighty Ducks.

They play their next 10 games against Western Conference teams.

The Ducks begin a four-game trip Friday and will play Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and San Jose. Calgary is the only one of the four behind the Ducks in the standings.

“These are four-point games,” defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky said. “We don’t look ahead at games, but it is important right now that we stick to how we have been playing.”

While it may still be early to talk about playoff spots, every point the Ducks secure now will help come April. They finished four points out of a playoff spot last season.

“You don’t like to talk too much about segments in the season, saying you want to win every game, because you’ll just get disappointed,” Coach Craig Hartsburg said. “But we know the stretch we’re heading into. We know how important it is to win games in your own conference.”

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Center Steve Rucchin, who has missed two games after being hit in the face with the puck Nov. 15, will begin skating Monday and is expected to start practicing with the team Wednesday. Rucchin suffered a fractured nose and left cheekbone against Colorado.

He had surgery on the cheekbone, but started off-ice training Wednesday.

“It’s not like a shoulder injury or an ankle, something you have to rehab,” Hartsburg said. “The only concern is whether the bones have healed enough for him to get back on the ice.”

Rucchin will wear a full face shield when he rejoins the team. A partial face shield might have prevented the injury. Rucchin was hit after being pushed forward by Colorado defenseman Ray Bourque, right into the path of a Teemu Selanne shot.

As for when Rucchin will return to the lineup, Hartsburg said, “We’ll see where he’s at when he returns to the team.”