Ducks hit with rash of injuries, David Perron out 4-6 weeks
The Ducks announced a series of injuries to key players that could keep them sidelined for an extended period of time.
By
Chris Peters
•
2 min read
The Anaheim Ducks have been essentially the best team in the NHL since the Christmas break. They’ve gotten contributions from all over their lineup, but their depth is taking a pretty significant hit as a rash of injuries or illness has claimed multiple key players. The Ducks announced the updates in a series of tweets their fans surely wished were a cruel April Fools’ Day prank.
First of all, after waiting to reevaluate his injury, the Ducks confirmed that forward David Perron sustained a separated shoulder on March 20 in a botched check along the boards. He will miss the next four to six weeks, which could cost him at least the first round of the playoffs and probably most, if not all of the second, if the Ducks make it that far.
Making matters worse, the Ducks revealed that goaltender Frederik Andersen, currently locked in a battle for crease time with John Gibson, suffered a concussion in Anaheim’s game against the Calgary Flames Wednesday night. He was only in the game for 11:32.
And they weren’t done yet.
Rickard Rakell, currently fourth on the team with 43 points in a breakout season, has appendicitis and will be out for the next week. That could effectively end his regular season, but he should be recovered in time for the playoffs.
On top of all that, defenseman Hampus Lindholm will miss Friday night’s game against the Vancouver Canucks while dealing with an illness of some kind.
As a result of the rash of injuries, the Ducks recalled forward Chris Wagner and goaltender Anton Khudobin from their AHL affiliate in San Diego.
The injuries to Perron and Andersen are fairly concerning for the Ducks, due to length in Perron’s case and uncertainty in Anderson’s.
Perron has been a revelation since joining the Ducks via trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Before his injury, he had 20 points in 28 games for Anaheim. With Pittsburgh this season, he had just 16 points in 43 games. He looked reborn with the Ducks and appeared to have the chance to exorcise some of the demons of infrequent and not terribly successful trips to the postseason. The veteran forward has 10 points in 24 career playoff contests.
He told the assembled media Friday that he wants to beat the injury timeline that the team has set for him, but separated shoulders can be pretty tricky. An often slow-to-heal injury that could be made worse if Perron returns too early, the Ducks are wise to put a conservative timeline on this.
As far as Andersen goes, the Ducks still have Gibson to lean on. That doesn’t help ease any concerns about depth in net, though. Andersen was a good secondary option if Gibson falters. Andersen is 21-9-7 in 42 appearances this year with a .917 save percentage and 2.36 goals-against average. He may be able to get back in time for the playoffs, but one never really knows how a player will recover from a concussion.
With the exception of Perron’s injuries, most of these are unlikely to significantly hinder the Ducks in the playoffs, but it does complicate their tight race with the Kings for the division title. Anaheim is just one point behind Los Angeles with a game in hand as they seek a fourth consecutive Pacific Division championship.
