Anaheim Ducks forward Mikael Granlund will be sidelined for multiple weeks due to a lower-body injury, Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said Tuesday.
Granlund left their 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday in the first period. The 33-year-old Finnish forward had been a spark for the Ducks with two goals and six assists in eight games. Both goals and five of his eight points came on Thursday in a 7-5 win over the Boston Bruins, where he tied a club record for points in a single game.
“We’re probably looking at a couple, three weeks,” Quenneville said, according to the Ducks’ website, ahead of Anaheim’s road game against the Florida Panthers. Granlund is expected to be re-evaluated by team doctors on Thursday after Anaheim returns home from its five-game road trip.
As the Ducks had hoped, Granlund has provided versatility for Quenneville and general manager Pat Verbeek after signing a three-year, $21 million free-agent contract on July 1.
Because of Granlund’s ability to comfortably play center or the wing, the veteran slid right into the middle and has centered Anaheim’s unsettled third line with Ryan Strome still unable to make his season debut due to an upper-body injury. That, in turn, opened a spot on the second line for rookie Beckett Sennecke.
The 19-year-old Sennecke figures to stick with Anaheim as he’s expected to play in his ninth NHL game Tuesday, with one more officially burning the first year of his entry-level contract. Sennecke has provided an early spark with three goals — including one in each of his first two NHL games — and two assists. He was the No. 3 pick in the 2024 draft.
The Ducks are already playing with a short-handed cast. Along with Granlund now being sidelined and Strome unavailable, Chris Kreider is set to miss his fourth straight game because of an unspecified illness. Kreider remained with the club through Saturday but has since returned to Southern California. Defenseman and team captain Radko Gudas will be out for a second straight contest as he deals with a lower-body injury.
It means Anaheim is leaning on more of its younger players. Ian Moore is skating in place of Gudas. Nikita Nesterenko has been bumped up to the third line with Frank Vatrano moving into the top six up front, while Sam Colangelo has shed his part-time status for now. Ryan Poehling will move into Granlund’s 3C spot, opening the door for Jansen Harkins to make his season debut.
Harkins was activated off injured reserve Saturday after incurring an upper-body injury in a preseason game against the Kings.