Shawn Horcoff sparks Ducks with play and words

Shawn Horcoff, restored to the Ducks lineup after being scratched for the first two games of their playoff series against the Nashville Predators, made his presence felt Tuesday in many ways.

The 37-year-old center set up the first goal in the Ducks’ 3-0 victory with a crisp pass to left wing Jamie McGinn, subduing a raucous crowd at Bridgestone Arena. He won seven of nine faceoffs, including four of five defensive-zone draws. And when he sensed his teammates needed a reminder about the importance of being composed, a concept they ignored in the first two games, Horcoff was the voice of reason.

Actually, his voice is in their ears quite often.

“I’m a little bit of a talkative guy,” he said, smiling.

In this case, intent on getting a foothold in their first-round series, they took his words to heart and put themselves in position to pull even Thursday.

“He’s a calming presence,” McGinn said Wednesday after the Ducks practiced at Bridgestone Arena. “The leadership role, he can step into the lineup and just calm guys down. Some of them, being in the playoffs, their nerves get going a bit and he knows the right things to say.

“And just having him out there, with the chatter on the bench, he’s a good guy to have around. He’s awesome in the locker room and he’s been through it all. Playing with him was awesome. We did a lot of talking and there were a lot of positive things and I thought we did a good job together.”

This series wasn’t the first time this season Horcoff was forced into the role of unwilling spectator.

In January, he was suspended for 20 games by the NHL for violating terms of the league’s performance-enhancing substances program, a transgression he said occurred when he went outside the team’s personnel to get treatment for a hand injury. Horcoff, who forfeited $357,526.88 in salary, took responsibility for not fully investigating the treatment.

During the suspension he was banned from team meetings and practices and couldn’t be around the team before games, conditions that were lifted 10 days before he was eligible to return.

“It’s been a tough season. Going through something like that was obviously frustrating given the circumstance,” he said. “It’s behind me now. I had to leave it behind me.

“What it did was allow me to kind of put a lot of work in because I wasn’t injured. It allowed me to train and get ready, and actually when I came back I felt great. Now, I feel fresh and I’m ready to go here for what hopefully is a long run.”

The Ducks signed him in July to a one-year contract as a free agent in hopes he could help them enjoy the kind of playoff run he experienced in 2006 with the Edmonton Oilers, who won the West as the No. 8 seed and lost a seven-game Stanley Cup Final to the Carolina Hurricanes. Horcoff had seven goals and 19 points in 24 playoff games, a strong follow to a season in which he set career-best totals of 22 goals and 73 points.

“I kept thinking that he was in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, and if anybody knows how to be calm … “ Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau said, leaving the sentence unfinished but making his meaning clear. “He knew he wasn’t going to play a ton but he was a very important part of our game.”

Horcoff called the Ducks “the deepest team I’ve ever been on,” and knew he might not play regularly in the playoffs. Still, the wait was frustrating.

“This is the best time of year. This is what you want to play for. I don’t think it would be normal not to get you a little bit,” he said. “At my age, my main focus is to win a Cup. That’s what I’m here to do. For me it’s just a matter of trying to keep ready and when I got the opportunity, trying to make the most of it.”

He made the most of his time as a spectator during the first two games by making mental notes and sharing them with teammates before Game 3. His observations were largely the same as the coaches’ but can have a stronger impact coming from a player.

“It’s something that kind of comes natural to me. It’s something that I’ve always been fine with doing,” Horcoff said. “There’s a lot of guys in here that speak their mind, but I felt [Tuesday] was a step in the right direction. It is still only one win, though. We’ve got a long ways to go.”

This much is clear: Horcoff — and the Ducks — aren’t going quietly.