ANAHEIM, Calif. \u2013 There have been plenty of highs in the Anaheim Ducks\u2019 first 4-1-0 start since 2019, but aside from the five-goal second period in the lone loss to Edmonton last Wednesday, the extent of the recent lows of this start will be detailed in the next few hours.<\/p>\n
The Ducks lost last season\u2019s leading goal scorer Cutter Gauthier (upper-body injury) after five shifts on Saturday in Calgary and third-line center Ryan Poehling (lower-body injury) on the go-ahead goal in that same 4-2 win over the Flames.<\/p>\n
With Anaheim having a day off on Sunday, the timeline on the injuries to both players, as well as who will replace them, won\u2019t be fully known until the Ducks return to practice at Great Park Ice at 10:30 a.m. on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth guys we lost tonight, we\u2019ll get back (to Anaheim) tomorrow, we\u2019ll get evaluated,\u201d Joel Quenneville told local media in Calgary. \u201cWe\u2019ll see how they present on Monday. We\u2019ve got our fingers crossed, but I\u2019m not sure right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gauthier\u2019s injury is concerning only because there was no evident incident on his five shifts that led to him leaving the game. Late last season, Gauthier suffered a fractured vertebrae that had a similarly subdued on-ice reaction, but again, no inkling what this current injury could be.<\/p>\n
Poehling\u2019s injury was much more evident, as he immediately grabbed his knee after being taken out and driving into the goal post. There\u2019s plenty of moving parts in the knee, so also not worth speculating until more is confirmed.<\/p>\n
Anaheim is also waiting on the return of Drew Helleson and Ian Moore from injured reserve (lower-body injuries).<\/p>\n
Helleson has been skating with the team and was targeted for a return on the road trip, per Quenneville. Again, practice on Monday will determine where he is in the line-up.<\/p>\n
Moore suffered a lower-body injury in the very first drill of training camp and was given a 2-4 week timeline. This is his fourth week of recovery. He has not skated with the team yet.<\/p>\n
While waiting for those diagnoses today, let\u2019s empty the notebook on some positive angles from the first full week of Ducks hockey:<\/p>\n
Nikita Klepov Makes Humble Debut<\/p>\n
Anaheim\u2019s No. 15 overall pick in this summer\u2019s draft made his NHL debut on Wednesday, and while Florida-born Russian winger Nikita Klepov didn\u2019t hit the scoresheet in the ways you\u2019d expect\u2013zero shots in 10:03 of ice time, but five hits\u2013he took his first game in stride.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s just the start of my career,\u201d Klepov said. \u201cHopefully it’s going to be long. I didn’t do anything yet. Just getting started, I think.”<\/p>\n
Analytically, not a half bad start for the youngest Ducks player in team history (18 years, 102 days old). With Klepov on the ice, the Ducks earned 84.71% of expected goals and 66.67% of the shot attempts.<\/p>\n
Klepov did not draw in on the road over the weekend, as Anaheim balances the early workload on the kid, but he\u2019s taking the right attitude into these early trials.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust get my reps in, get used to the speed and pace,\u201d Klepov said. \u201cEverything\u2019s a little bit quicker here. If I continue to play and get the reps, I\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noah Warren Shines in Top Opportunity<\/p>\n
The biggest concern entering the season for Anaheim was the state of its blue line. What would the back end look like with so much turnover from veterans to rookies?<\/p>\n
So far, it\u2019s looked fairly decent, even as the Ducks leaned so heavily on Jackson LaCombe and Tristan Luneau in the first few games.<\/p>\n
However, even as Luneau is as much of a rookie as some of the rest, he was expected to fill a big role. Just look at that six-year, $7.2 million-per-year extension Anaheim locked him into.<\/p>\n
The biggest surprise on this Ducks defense\u2013aside from veteran free agent Nick Jensen not getting into the line-up, even with the injuries to Moore and Helleson\u2013is Noah Warren.<\/p>\n
Not only did Warren make his NHL debut ahead of schedule and ahead of Jensen, he\u2019s passed his early tests with flying colors. So much so, the 22-year-old was shifted to the top pair with LaCombe for the weekend back-to-back.<\/p>\n
In Winnipeg, Warren logged over 24 minutes of ice time, and with Warren on the ice at five-on-five, the Ducks earned over 58% of the shot attempts and expected goals. In Calgary\u2013as LaCombe rode the bench for a 10-minute stretch\u2013Warren\u2019s analytics dipped slightly in over 21 minutes of ice time, but the Ducks still earned over 58% of shot attempts with 45.5% of expected goals.<\/p>\n
Warren did log assists in each of the back-to-back games for three assists in five games this season<\/p>\n
Most NHL teams find some totem to give to their player of the game in the locker room after victories, and after retiring the Mighty Ducks movie Coach Bombay Jacket from last season, new captain Mikael Granlund still wanted to keep it vintage with whatever this year\u2019s item would become.<\/p>\n
Luckily, Granlund knows a Finnish legend in Orange County, and Teemu Selanne was more than willing to open up his old Ducks gear for this year\u2019s flock.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to do some old Mighty Ducks team helmet,\u201d Granlund said told The Sporting Tribune. \u201cTeemu found a helmet from his storage. We thought it\u2019s sick and put that old bubble out there. Turned out pretty good to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Selanne handed over a classic purple\u2013I always called it \u201ceggplant,\u201d but the team officially went with \u201cplum\u201d during the 30th anniversary season\u2013Jofa helmet from his second stint with the Mighty Ducks in 2005-06, his limited run as No. 13 in an Anaheim sweater.<\/p>\n
But, as Granlund noted, they wanted to take it a step further and, as they did with the Bombay jacket, lean into the Mighty Ducks movie vibes and attached a bubble shield to mimic the youth hockey look from those 1992 District 5 Ducks.<\/p>\n
Leo Carlsson, 21st Duck Joshua Conger, Judd Caulfield and Ville Husso have been the recipients so far this season.<\/p>\n
Some extra background on the Teemu bucket from Mikael Granlund:<\/p>\n
Bucket is game-worn. The bubble shield is not. Granlund said team was looking to get Mighty Ducks movie vibes from the whatever the victory item was like the Coach Bombay jacket, and so got Teemu\u2019s Mighty Jofa\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/qhpX2q69xb<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/JYzMD67Dyc<\/a><\/p>\n