This is not what Anaheim Ducks fans want to hear with the start of the playoffs right around the corner.
The team announced Tuesday that defenceman Cam Fowler will miss the next two to six weeks with a shoulder injury, while goaltender John Gibson is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Fowler sustained the injury in Sunday’s important overtime win against the Colorado Avalanche.
Gibson was unable to finish Sunday’s game, too, after he was involved in a collision with Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog. Reto Berra was recalled from the AHL’s San Diego as a response to Gibson’s injury.
Francois Beauchemin took Fowler’s spot on a defensive pairing with Brandon Montour at Tuesday’s practice. Hampus Lindholm skated with his usual partner, Josh Manson, while Marcus Pettersson split time with Andrew Welinski and Korbinian Holzer on the third pair.
The Ducks have yet to clinch a playoff spot, but they do control their own destiny with three contests remaining in the regular season. Randy Carlyle’s club currently occupies the top wild card spot in the West but can leapfrog Los Angeles Kings for third place in the Pacific Division if they win their game in hand. Anaheim hosts the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday then the Dallas Stars on Friday before finishing out the regular season on the road against the Arizona Coyotes.
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