- Ryan Poehling has a sprained MCL and will miss 6-8 weeks
- He got hurt crashing into the net after a shorthanded goal against Calgary
- Read below for how the Ducks are covering the hole
Ryan Poehling is going to be out for a while.
The Ducks announced Tuesday that the forward has a sprained MCL and is expected to miss six to eight weeks. He has been placed on injured reserve.
The injury happened Saturday in Calgary. Poehling picked off a pass and scored a shorthanded goal to break a tie early in the third period of a 4-2 Ducks win, then crashed into the net and stayed down. He needed help getting to the dressing room and did not return, according to the NHL.com game recap.
Here’s the video of the goal and the crash:
Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe talked about the play after the game.
“It was a huge goal for us,” LaCombe said. “Obviously, it gave us some momentum, too, but it’s tough to see him go into the post like that. Hopefully he’s okay, so we’ll see what happens.”
Poehling had one goal and one assist through five games. The 27-year-old is coming off a career year with 11 goals and 36 points, which earned him a four-year extension worth $3.75 million per season through 2029-30.
Injuries have followed him for most of his career. He has never played a full season in his four years as an everyday NHLer, and he missed a key playoff game last spring after a late hit from Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb.
Anaheim recalled top prospect Roger McQueen from San Diego to fill the spot, and he could make his NHL debut against the Flames on Tuesday night. The Ducks are 4-1-0 and also lost Cutter Gauthier to an upper-body injury in the same game.
