"Last week, when he started skating on his own, it became inevitable that Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf would soon be practicing with his teammates.

That day arrived Monday and, of course, his teammates were happy to see him back on the ice. The center didn't take part in contact drills, but participated in every other aspect of practice - a significant step in his return from multiple nasal sinus fractures.

Flashing back to Dec. 28 for a moment, Getzlaf's return was anything but inevitable when he was struck between the eyebrows by a shot off the stick of the Phoenix Coyotes' Shane Doan.

"The first couple days were pretty scary," he said. "They didn't know if there was spinal fluid leaking, that stuff surrounds your brain, so the first few days were pretty scary for me and my family. After a couple CT scans, we knew we were in the clear at that aspect of it - the brain portion and the long-term effects. I was pretty fortunate to get away with the fractures."

A loss of vision was also a possibility, had the puck struck Getzlaf an inch lower and to either side of his nose.

"I could see on the CT scans where the fractures were and how deep they went," he said. "(The doctor) didn't need to tell me anything. It was pretty clear how close it was to being some serious, serious damage.

"We were close, put it that way."

It seems trivial by comparison, but the Ducks as a team have survived Getzlaf's injury, too."