Randy “The Shuffler” Carlyle

Photo: Chris Carlson/The Associated Press

By Michael Walters

When the 2017-18 season began for the Anaheim Ducks, Randy Carlyle knew he would have to shuffle the lines before the season even started with Ryan Kesler, Hampus Lindholm, and Sami Vatanen all out for extended periods of time. Little did he or anyone know that he would have to constantly shuffle the lineup on almost a daily basis. The Ducks saga of injuries could easily be put in a documentary that would probably be longer than all three of the Star Wars trilogies combined.

The latest injury for the Ducks came on Star Wars night as Corey Perry collided with Jeff Skinner and ended up being helped off the ice. It appears the affected area is around the knee and the team is officially calling it a lower-body injury. According to Randy Carlyle, Perry hasn’t been limping or using crutches. He was also in the weight room today. The Ducks did recall Kevin Roy as a result, who was just sent down to San Diego yesterday. The plan is to reevaluate Perry in a week as he was placed on the injured reserve list.

Injured Reserve List Watch

In addition to Perry, the other players that are still on the injured reserve list according to the Ducks official NHL media site are Patrick Eaves, Mike Liambas, and Hampus Lindholm. Eaves continues to remain out as he deals with Guillain-Barre syndrome and there is no timetable for his return. Liambas was placed on the IR back on December 1st with an undisclosed injury. Lindholm came off the IR on December 11th, but then reappeared on the list today with an upper-body injury.

The good news is Jared Boll came off the IR yesterday and Joseph Blandisi was removed from the list today as well. Carlyle said Lindholm, Blandisi, and Kesler will all go on the upcoming road trip. It looks like Blandisi has the best chance of playing on Thursday in St. Louis. Nick Ritchie who has been dealing with an upper-body injury will go on the road trip as well.

Carlyle Keeps Shuffling

Despite all the injuries and the never-ending rotation of players to and from the IR, Carlyle has managed to keep the Ducks above water. Anaheim is currently 13-11-7, good for fifth place in the Pacific Division. The Ducks are just two points out of a wild-card spot and third place in the Pacific Division. Anaheim saw the return of Jakob Silfverberg and Ryan Getzlaf last night. Hopefully, Perry will only be out a short time and with Kesler’s return on the horizon, the Ducks could make a strong push in second half of the season.

Possible Forward Lineup

With Perry out, for now, Ondrej Kase could jump up in his spot. Here is a possible projected forward lineup to start the road trip.

Rickard Rakell – Ryan Getzlaf– Ondrej Kase

Andrew Cogliano – Adam Henrique– Jakob Silfverberg

Chris Wagner – Antoine Vermette – Joseph Blandisi / Kevin Roy

Dennis Rasmussen – Derek Grant – Logan Shaw

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December 12th, 2017