Music: {allcanada} Ducks' Theodore to make NHL debut against Flames

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DUCKS (13-15-6) at FLAMES (17-16-2)

TV: PRIME, FS-SD, SNW

CALGARY -- Anaheim Ducks defenseman Shea Theodore will make his NHL debut against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday.

Theodore, Anaheim's first-round selection (No. 26) in the 2013 NHL Draft, was recalled from San Diego of the American Hockey League after defenseman Cam Fowler sustained a knee sprain in the first period of the Ducks' 4-2 win at home against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday. A timeline for Fowler's recovery won't be determined until later this week.

"That's 25 minutes a night that someone else has got to eat up," Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said. "[Fowler is] so good at making that first pass out of his own zone, or being able to skate it out of his own zone. That's hard to get back. But he plays all the special teams. He's going to be missed."

Theodore, who had been recalled twice this season, found out Monday he would be making his debut in Calgary.

"I got a couple messages from my mom telling me how proud she is and how hard I've worked for it," said Theodore, who has four goals and 16 points in 27 games in the AHL this season. "It's a special moment to get your first game. Hopefully I can have a good one. Just seeing my family after the game … no matter how it goes, I know they're going to be behind me 100 percent. That's just how it should be."

Fowler was placed on injured reserve and will not play on the Ducks' three-game road trip. He leads Anaheim in ice time (22:38 per game) this season, and has three goals and 12 points in 34 games.

"It's a tough situation, obviously," he said. "You don't want anyone to get hurt, but sometimes you've got to take the opportunity that's given to you. I'm going to try to make the most of it. I want to stay. I want to get my first game out of the way and hopefully it goes as well as I've planned."

The Ducks, last in the Pacific Division with 32 points, are four points back of the fifth-place Flames.

Anaheim is 5-4-1 in its past 10 games. Calgary has won eight of its past 10 games, and a team record 11 consecutive games at home. The Flames play six of their next seven games on home ice.

"Right now we're in the mix," Flames coach Bob Hartley said. "The teams that can put streaks together and prevent losing streaks should be able to make up ground, because right now it's a big traffic jam up there. If you win two, you lose one, you lose two, you win one, you're going to stay in the pack, but you're not going to make ground. We're starting a nice sequence here. Six of our next seven games will be in this building, so it's important that we take advantage of this situation."

Anaheim's three-game road trip is against divisional opponents.

"Divisional games are vital," Boudreau said. "If you look at the standings in the Pacific Division alone, the divisional games are going to be the difference between making the playoffs and not making the playoffs."

Here are the projected lineups:

DUCKS

Rickard Rakell - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey Perry

Carl Hagelin - Ryan Kesler - Jakob Silfverberg

Patrick Maroon - Nate Thompson - Andrew Cogliano

Jiri Sekac - Shawn Horcoff - Mike Santorelli

Hampus Lindholm - Josh Manson

Clayton Stoner - Sami Vatanen

Shea Theodore - Kevin Bieksa

John Gibson

Frederik Andersen

Injured: Simon Despres (concussion symptoms), Cam Fowler (knee sprain)

Scratched: Korbinian Holzer, Chris Stewart

FLAMES

Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Jiri Hudler

Sam Bennett - Markus Granlund - David Jones

Micheal Ferland - Mikael Backlund - Joe Colborne

Lance Bouma - Matt Stajan - Brandon Bollig

Mark Giordano - TJ Brodie

Kris Russell - Dougie Hamilton

Dennis Wideman - Deryk Engelland

Karri Ramo

Jonas Hiller

Injured: Michael Frolik (upper body)

Scratched: Mason Raymond, Josh Jooris, Ladislav Smid

Status report: Gibson will make his fourth consecutive start for the Ducks. Stewart could be a healthy scratch for a third consecutive game. … Ramo will make his seventh straight start for the Flames. Bollig will play after sitting as a healthy scratch for seven games.

Who's hot: Getzlaf has one goal and four points during a three-game point streak. Perry has three goals in his past two games. … Gaudreau was the NHL First Star of the Week after scoring five goals in two games. He has 15 goals and 22 points during Calgary's 11-game winning streak at home. Giordano has three goals and seven points during a four-game point streak.

Team Stats