The Anaheim Ducks already had plenty of injuries to deal with heading into Sunday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes. Now they must be concerned about captain Ryan Getzlaf after he was clearly shaken up by a puck to the face.
The Ducks used the phrasing that Getzlaf “continues to be evaluated” regarding an upper-body injury. To little surprise, they also noted that he would not return to Sunday’s match against the Hurricanes.
Sportsnet tweeted a GIF of the unfortunate bounce for Getzlaf and the Ducks:
Ryan Getzlaf's face can't feel good after that. pic.twitter.com/bgMc8mKlzM
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 29, 2017
Getzlaf, 32, came into Sunday on a high note. He generated three assists in the Ducks’ somewhat-surprising win against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and had seven points in his last four contests.
On the bright side, the Ducks have an opportunity to rest, as their next game doesn’t come until Wednesday. They play nine of 11 games in Anaheim to begin November, so having Getzlaf on hand certainly would help them make the most of that stretch.
Again, this is far from the only issue for Anaheim. Sami Vatanen was believed to be ready to play, but that fell through tonight. Cam Fowler and Ryan Kesler aren’t expected to play again anytime soon, Kevin Bieksa is day-to-day with an issue, and Patrick Eaves is dealing with some frightening health problems. Ryan Miller just made his debut tonight.
The Ducks seemed aware that this might be a tough start to the season thanks in part to injuries, so potentially losing Getzlaf for some time could be a problem. We’ll see if there are any updates tonight, as the game is currently in the third period.
Update: Anaheim managed to fight back for a win in this one, edging Carolina 4-3 via a shootout.
James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.