Andy Sutton broke his thumb in Anaheim’s pummeling, courtesy of the Detroit Red Wings, on Friday night. If the 4-0 loss wasn’t bad enough for the Ducks, losing veteran defensive defenseman Sutton certainly is. Sutton’s injury occurred in a scrum with ex-Duck Ruslan Salei as things began to get nasty late in the second period. With Sutton in the lineup, the Ducks were out-shot 43-21, with Hiller conceding four goals.Sutton underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair the extensive damage to his thumb, putting the 6’6 245lbs. defenseman out 6-8 weeks.
Anaheim couldn’t have received worse news as their defensive corps is already thinned out. Veteran future hall of famer’ Scott Niedermayer retired on the off-season, and newcomer Toni Lydman did not take part in any pre-season action due to ‘double vision’ and remains out for an undetermined time frame, possibly related to migraine headaches.
2010 1st round draft pick Cam Fowler has stepped in to take a big role with the team in his young NHL career. He has played remarkably well, and has given the Ducks something to smile about on the blue line. In Fridays night’s game he was third on the team in total ice time (21:20) just 2 seconds behind Paul Mara. Fowler shined as he was not on the ice for a single Detroit goal. Luca Sbisa has been called up to fill some of the void, but the highly touted youngster is still very green to the NHL, having only played 48 NHL games, and may not provide enough for the underperforming Ducks. Both are highly regarded, however, and could be an interesting duo on the back end for the Ducks.
The Ducks have acted quickly after their first three abysmal games left them out-scored 13-2. Unrestricted free-agent Andreas Lilja has been signed to come in and play big minutes for the Ducks after he was released from their in-state rivals’ tryout, the San Jose Sharks. Lilja provides solid defensive responsibility and experience. A full write up by Dustin can be found here; Ducks Sign Andreas Lilja To Fill Void On Blueline.
Veteran defenseman Brian Rafalski of the Detroit Red Wings underwent a knee scope on Monday and will reportedly be out 3-4 weeks. His knee had been bothering him through pre-season, and for the betterment of the year ahead, he and the organization have decided to get the problem fixed now opposed to later.
"He had a little pain and just decided that it hadn't reacted the way it had in the past," Detroit head coach Mike Babcock said. "They just decided they need to have a quick look and clean up whatever they need to clean up. They didn't think it would be very long, but who knows once they get in there?"
Rafalski underwent back surgery on the off-season, which took a good amount of time away from his training in preparation for the season. He injured the knee at a young age (18), and has had issues with it on and off through his career. The off-season back surgery probably led to less strength in his legs, putting more pressure on the knee through pre-season and practices.
"The arthroscopy went well. They removed a few floating fragments," Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. "We expect he'll be back in three to four weeks."
As Jonathan Ericsson continues to be listed as “day-to-day” after leaving Friday night’s game against the Ducks with apparent back spasms, the Wings have recalled defenseman Doug Janik from the Grand Rapids Griffins. Janik, 30, played 13 games for the Red Wings last season and had two assists and a minus-3 rating.
"He's a stable D-man, can play in the NHL. He played real well for us last year," Babcock said. "He knows what we're doing. He fits right in, he's a good penalty killer, he's safe."
In order to call up Janik the Red Wings had to make space by putting Kris Draper on Injured Reserve as he is dealing with a nagging injury and is listed day-to-day with a groin injury. Draper can be called back at any point, provided they can send Janik or someone else back to Grand Rapids.
- Kendall Grubbs
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