Ryan Getzlaf Sustains Lower-Body Injury
Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf is week-to-week with a lower-body injury, the team announced Friday. Getzlaf had missed Wednesday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights. Though not confirmed by the team, the belief is Getzlaf injured his leg during the first period of Tuesday’s game versus the Los Angeles Kings.
INJURY UPDATE: Ryan Getzlaf is out for tonight's game vs. Calgary with a lower body injury and is listed as week to week. pic.twitter.com/4dMjzy4Eg9
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) December 3, 2021
What It Means For The Ducks
The Ducks have been one of the more surprising teams of the season. After a slow start, the Ducks caught fire and have remained hot. Their record stands at 13-8-3, good for 29 points, and third place in the Pacific division.
Getzlaf has been a key player in the Ducks’ success. He’s had a resurgent season, putting up 20 points in 23 games this season so far. More than that, he has been a key figure in mentoring Anaheim’s exciting young players such as Trevor Zegras and Mason Mctavish. Earlier this season, Getzlaf became the leading scorer in Anaheim Ducks history, as well as eclipsing 1,000 career points.
With Getzlaf gone, the spotlight will shine even brighter on Anaheim’s young stars and they will be expected to continue the success in the captain’s absence. It will be a good chance to see if the team can succeed without Getzlaf, who is 36 and playing on a one-year contract. There was speculation that the Ducks and Getzlaf would part ways in the off-season following a disappointing 2021 season. The long-time Duck was only able to manage 17 points in 48 games last season. After testing the waters in free agency, Getzlaf agreed to return to the Ducks on a one-year deal.
Sam Steel will move up the lineup to take Getzlaf’s place, playing centre between Troy Terry and Adam Henrique. That could be a good line and missing Getzlaf while not ideal, may not affect the team’s success going forward.
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