Another potential Western Conference playoff team has some significant injury news.
The Anaheim Ducks announced on Tuesday afternoon that defenseman Cam Fowler suffered a shoulder injury against the Colorado Avalanche over the weekend will be sidelined for the next two to six weeks.
Along with that the team also announced that starting goalie John Gibson, who also exited the game against Colorado with an upper-body injury, is currently listed as day-to-day. The team has since recalled goalie Reto Berra from the American Hockey League.
[The 2018 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs begin April 11 on the networks of NBC]
The Ducks have been on a roll over the past couple of weeks (7-1-1 in their past nine games) but have not yet secured a playoff spot in the Western Conference, currently sitting in the first Wild Card spot with 95 points. They are two points ahead of Colorado in the second Wild Card spot and three points ahead of the St. Louis Blues who are currently on the outside of the playoff picture. Along with all of that the Ducks are just one point back of the Los Angeles Kings for the third spot in the Pacific Division.
Injuries are nothing new to the Ducks this season as they have spent most of the year without several of their top players at various times, including Fowler. When he has been in the lineup he is their ice-time leader and top offensive threat along the blue line. Not having for the remainder of the regular season and potentially for the first-round of the playoffs (and maybe beyond) could be a game-changer for their blue line.
The Gibson news is equally concerning, if only because he has already started to build a substantial injury history in his young career. Sunday’s game was the sixth time that Gibson has had to exit with an injury.
When healthy he has developed into one of the best goaltenders in the league and has a .926 save percentage in 60 games this season.
Fortunately for the Ducks they do have a quality backup in veteran Ryan Miller.
Miller has been outstanding this season when filling in for Gibson and boasts a nearly identical save percentage (.925) in his 25 appearances.
[NHL Playoff Push: Eastern Conference field could be set on Tuesday]
The Ducks still have three more games remaining in the regular season, hosting the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday night and then the Dallas Stars on Friday night. They close the regular season on Saturday night by visiting the Arizona Coyotes.
The Ducks’ injury news comes not long after the Avalanche, one of the teams the Ducks are in competition with for a playoff spot, lost starting goalie Semyon Varlamov for the remainder of the season and defenseman Erik Johnson for several weeks.