This isn’t good news for the Anaheim Ducks.
On Sunday, head coach Randy Carlyle said that forwards Patrick Eaves and Rickard Rakell did not travel with the team to Nashville and will not be available for Game 6 tomorrow.
The Ducks trail the Nashville Predators 3-2 in the Western Conference Final, following Saturday’s 3-1 loss at home.
Rakell, who has 13 points in 15 games this postseason, didn’t play Saturday, with the official announcement of his absence from the lineup because of a lower-body injury coming during the warm-up.
Eaves, who had instantly fit in with Anaheim’s lineup after he was acquired prior to the trade deadline, hasn’t played since Game 3 of the second round.
The news comes one day after Eaves skated -- a promising sign at the time, with Carlyle saying yesterday the veteran right winger was one step closer to potentially returning to the lineup.
“It wasn’t a positive response from Eaves in skating yesterday,” said Carlyle on Sunday. “So we decided we’d leave him at home. And Rakell wasn’t ready to skate today. So both players are not available to us.”
Now, the biggest concern for the Ducks is whether John Gibson will be ready for Game 6.
The Ducks goalie left Saturday’s contest after the first period with a lower-body injury. He didn’t return, although he apparently stated to the coaching staff that he will be ready to play Monday.
He will be re-evaluated tomorrow, said Carlyle.