Cam Fowler has been cleared to play in the Ducks’ season opener tonight versus the Penguins: however, the 22-year-old defenseman is still calling himself a game-time decision after suffering a lower-body injury last week.
“You want to be at 100 percent and you don’t want to do any harm to yourself or to the team either,” Fowler said, per NHL.com. “You have to be at full capacity when you play these games. So, we’re going to make sure everything falls into place and we’ll see how things go [tonight].”
Expect Fowler to play.
Also, expect John Gibson to get the start in Anaheim’s goal, according to Eric Stephens of the OC Register:
John Gibson is first off the ice. Hometown boy appears to get the opening night start for Ducks.
— Eric Stephens (@icemancometh) October 9, 2014
As we outlined in our Ducks’ “Risk Factors” post, both Fowler and Gibson are going to be key players for an Anaheim team with serious Stanley Cup aspirations.
Can Fowler be “that guy” on the blue line?
Can Gibson -- a 21-year-old with just three NHL starts to his name -- live up to his billing?
Anaheim starts the regular season with four straight road games -- tonight it’s Pittsburgh, Saturday it’s Detroit, Monday it’s Buffalo, and Tuesday it’s Philadelphia.
Click here for the expected forward lines and D pairings for both the Ducks and Pens.