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Anaheim Ducks Josh Manson and Ondrej Kase

Josh Manson looks onward.

The Anaheim Ducks will be without defenceman Josh Manson for a period of time. The 28-year-old suffered a lower-body injury against the Dallas Stars and has been placed on injured reserve. Forward Ondrej Kase will also be out at least two games due to a collision.

Josh Manson Has Lower Body Injury, Kase Out Two Games

Josh Manson has spent the season on the team’s top-pairing alongside Hampus Lindholm. Through 11 games he has three points. Lindholm has six in the same stretch. Manson’s impact has come outside of the scoresheet, though. Before his injury, he led the team in hits with 21. He also ranked second in blocks with 14. He’s averaging 19:22 in ice time, third on the team behind Lindholm and Cam Fowler.

Manson was drafted in the sixth round of the 2011 NHL Draft by Anaheim. He joined the NHL in 2014-15 and has played in every season since, all with the Ducks. Mason has 91 career points in 346 NHL games. He also has 326 NHL penalty minutes. He also has three points in 22 career postseason games.

Kase has been dealing with injuries for his whole career. He missed a large part of last year because of it and the Ducks are hoping that won’t be the case this season. He is a prime candidate to truly breakout. Watching him it is easy to see how special he is on and off the puck.

Kase has one goal and four assists for five points in 11 games played this year. Over his career, he has 37 goals and 41 assists for 78 points in 160 games. He has played his entire career in the NHL with the Ducks.

Going Forward

Manson’s absence leaves a large hole on the Ducks top penalty-killing unit and their even-strength play. To help fill this hole, the Ducks traded for Erik Gudbranson on Friday. Gudbranson has been in the NHL for the last eight seasons, with three different teams. He was most recently playing with the Pittsburgh Penguins, joining the team part-way through the 2018-19 season. Last season, in 19 games with Pittsburgh, Gudbranson tallied two points. This year, he has no points through seven games.

Gudbranson’s low-scoring likely means he won’t see top-line minutes, as Manson has, but he does add an admirable boost to the team’s defencive zone, again similar to Manson. He’s likely to take over some time on the team’s penalty-kill. When it comes to even-strength, though, Fowler could receive a boost in ice time. Fowler has spent most of the year alongside Michael Del Zotto, netting five points in 11 games. Promotion in the lineup could help emphasize an already strong scoring presence out of Fowler, with Gudbranson filling in alongside Del Zotto.

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Embed from Getty Images

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