Friday night was not a good one for two of the National Hockey League’s premier defencemen. Both the Anaheim Ducks’ Lubomir Visnovsky and the Dallas Stars’ Alex Goligoski could miss up to a month of action due to injuries suffered in games Friday night.
Visnovsky was hit with a shot in the third period of the Ducks’ 4-3 victory over Vancouver and suffered a broken finger on his right hand.
The 35-year-old defender is expected to return in approximately four weeks. Visnovsky has one goal and three assists this season, but he is coming off one of the best campaigns in his 11-year career. In 2010-11, he had 50 assists and set a franchise record for goals by a defenceman with 18.
Visnovsky was the NHL’s top-scoring defenceman last season with 68 points, and he played through a serious shoulder injury into the post-season in his first full season with Anaheim.
Anaheim says Visnovsky won’t require surgery.
Dallas’s Goligoski could be out up to four weeks as well, after being hit with a puck early in the first period of the Stars’ 3-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He did not play the final two frames.
"It’s a bad blow for us," said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. "It’s just one of those things that teams go through. Other guys will have to step up."
The 26-year-old rear guard suffered a broken thumb. He has six points in 15 games so far this season.
The Stars have recalled defenseman Philip Larsen from the Texas Stars of the AHL. Larsen is not expected to play tonight against Detroit.
Adam Pardy, a healthy scratch Friday night in Pittsburgh, will come into the lineup for the Stars against Detroit.
