One of the prominent storylines early in this NHL campaign -- the health, or lack thereof, of various netminders -- has played out again, this time in Anaheim.
Last night, backup Jonathan Bernier exited just his second start of the year with an upper-body injury, forcing John Gibson to come on in relief for an eventual 2-1 OT loss to the Sharks.
Today, the Ducks announced Bernier is day-to-day with his ailment, and recalled Dustin Tokarski from AHL San Diego.
Bernier had been solid for the Ducks in limited action this year, stopping 52 of 56 shots over his two appearances for a .929 save percentage. Tokarski has been less successful with the Gulls, allowing seven goals over two appearances (both wins, mind you) for a .885 save percentage.
The bigger story, obviously, is Bernier joining a laundry list of injured netminders.
A quick rundown:
-- Arizona is without Mike Smith -- L.A. is without Jonathan Quick and Jeff Zatkoff -- Boston is without Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin -- Buffalo is without Robin Lehner (illness)
The Ducks are back in action tonight, hosting Nashville, and it’s likely they’ll go with Gibson again, rather than throw Tokarski right into action fresh off a recall.