Ducks fortify defense with return of Fowler, Lindholm and Vatanen for Game 1 against the Oilers

Ducks defensemen Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen are all ready to return from injury for Game 1 of the second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers that starts Wednesday, Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle said.

Fowler is recovering from a knee injury, Lindholm from an undisclosed injury and Vatanen from an upper-body injury.

“They’re all available,” Carlyle said. “We have a decision to make because we’ve got a surplus of defensemen here. People that are available to us, we’ll make that decision after warm-up tonight.”

Fowler and Lindholm are two of the Ducks’ top four defensemen. Fowler was paired with Brandon Montour and Lindholm with Josh Manson in practice Tuesday. The team did not do line rushes Wednesday.

Fowler led the Ducks in ice time in the regular season and is regarded as one of their leaders on the back end.

Having him available again is “a huge boost,” Manson said. “He’s a guy that plays in all situations and he eats a lot of minutes for us. He’s a key part of the locker room and on the ice as well. If he comes back tonight, that’s a huge boost for our D corps.”

Vatanen plays on the power play and is usually paired with Kevin Bieksa or Shea Theodore.