When the Anaheim Ducks aren’t losing games, they’re losing players to injuries.
(Sometimes both.)
The team announced that Rickard Rakell will not return to Wednesday’s game against the Florida Panthers thanks to an upper-body injury.
It’s not yet clear how Rakell was injured - feel free to provide additional insight in the comments, if you have any - and it’s not obvious if this will be a short or long-term issue.
This is the closest thing we have to information on it so far:
Just caught a replay ... looks like Rakell was hit by Alex Petrovic near the blue line in the first period.
— Curtis Zupke (@curtiszupke) November 5, 2015
The Ducks were already hurting down the middle with Ryan Getzlaf’s surgery situation, and many were lauding Rakell’s work in his wake. Anaheim’s a little thin at center, as much will be expected of Ryan Kesler.
Jiri Sekac and Simon Despres are also out of the Ducks’ mix, so these are tough times even beyond the standings.
On that note, the Ducks have some work to do, as Florida currently holds a 2-1 lead in tonight’s game.
Ouch all around.