Marchant closer to returning

The way the Ducks’ Todd Marchant buzzed around the ice on Tuesday, it was clear that the veteran forward wants to be back in the lineup against Detroit in Friday’s Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.

But with the Ducks 8-2 in the playoffs without him, Marchant understands that Coach Randy Carlyle has plenty of choices at this time of year.

“Yeah, Randy has the final say but once we get the OK from the doctors, I don’t see anything being a problem,” said Marchant, sidelined for over a month since he had sports-hernia surgery April 6.

Marchant said he is pleased with how his body responded after spending practice skating on the fourth line with Brad May and Ryan Shannon on Tuesday.

“Everything has gone actually better than I had hoped it would go,” said Marchant, who has seven goals in 43 career playoff games. “Having this extra time to prepare has been great. Hopefully, I will get the final clearance to play.”

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Carlyle said that Samuel Pahlsson, who did not practice for the third day in a row on Tuesday, was given more time off for maintenance reasons and will play Friday.

“Unless he gets hit by lightning or falls down,” Carlyle said. “If he stays healthy away from the rink. He will play in Game 1.”

Pahlsson, a Frank Selke Trophy finalist, worked out on Tuesday but did not skate with the team.

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Ducks defenseman Chris Pronger, 32, only shakes his head when he talks about Detroit’s ageless wonders -- defenseman Chris Chelios and goaltender Dominik Hasek.

“They are not only still playing the game, they are playing the game at a high level,” Pronger said. “It is pretty rare to have players play into their 40s and yet, here we have Chelios still playing at 45, playing at a high level and a lot of minutes.

“Then there’s Hasek. He’s 42 and playing just about every day. Hopefully we will be able to get to them, but they sure are playing well right now.”

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The Ducks have allowed 1.70 goals a game and lead all playoff teams in fewest goals allowed with 17. Carlyle said the Ducks’ playoff success over the first two rounds has been a by-product of how they finished the regular season.

“We’ve been playing a pretty solid brand of hockey right from the last week of the season,” Carlyle said of the Ducks, who finished 11-3-3 after March 1. “We were pushed into a situation where we [had to win] on the road and the seeding for the playoffs wasn’t really determined until just before the puck dropped in our last game.

“We’ve been under pressure for a while but it seems like we’ve been able to accept and take on that responsibility with an everyday workman attitude.”

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Following Tuesday’s practice, Carlyle said it looks as if Marchant is ready but he’s not sure about defenseman Ric Jackman, who has been sidelined because of back spasms.... Pronger has played in 119 playoff games in his career with 29 being against the Red Wings (24%).... The Ducks have shut out opponents in seven of their 10 playoff games in the first period.... With 240 career playoff games, Chelios is seven shy of tying Patrick Roy for the all-time lead.

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lonnie.white@latimes.com