Rare thigh injury sidelines Ducks' top center. Olympic hopes hang in the balance as he begins a lengthy recovery, impacting his season.
To cap off one of their busiest news days in recent memory, just before the Anaheim Ducks’ home-and-home series against the Los Angeles Kings was set to begin on Friday, they announced Leo Carlsson underwent a procedure to treat a rare Morel-Lavallee lesion in his left thigh.
He is set to miss the next 3-5 weeks while recovering. Carlsson was named to Sweden’s Olympic team just following the new year, and this procedure will put his participation in the men’s hockey tournament in jeopardy. The tournament is set to take place between the 11th and 22nd of February.
Three weeks places his recovery finish line at Feb. 6, five days before the tournament, and five weeks places it at Feb. 20, two days before its conclusion. Carlsson is scheduled to miss all ten of Anaheim’s games between the injury announcement and the start of the Olympic break.
Carlsson started his third NHL season white hot, scoring 26 points (11-15=26) in his first 16 games. He’s only managed 18 points (7-11=18) in 28 games since. Early in the year, he was displaying new levels of explosion, dynamism, and complementary skill necessary to drive opponents deep into their end, opening up ice for his teammates and cutback lanes for himself.
Carlsson seemingly broke back through in the Ducks’ most recent road trip finale against the Buffalo Sabres on Jan. 10, where he notched a goal and an assist. He left Monday’s practice (Jan. 12) shortly after it began, and he was a full participant in Tuesday’s morning skate ahead of the Ducks’ game against the Dallas Stars, but he wasn’t able to play in that game.
He missed the Ducks' last game before the Christmas break on Dec. 22 with a lower-body injury, a 3-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken, but returned on Dec. 27 to face the Kings, a 6-1 loss. His current injury is speculated to be an extension of what was nagging him during that time at the end of December.
The Ducks are currently on the outside, looking in at the playoff picture, four points behind the San Jose Sharks for the second wild card spot. The Ducks will be without their franchise top centerman for a critical stretch of the season, but he’s expected to be fully recovered for the team’s final 26 games of the regular season.