Matt Beleskey has been diagnosed with a concussion and didn’t take part in practice today at Honda Center. He’ll be placed on injured reserve later today, a team spokesperson said, meaning he will miss Friday’s game against New Jersey and Saturday’s game against San Jose.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that Beleskey isn’t experiencing the worst of the typical post-concussion symptoms – dizziness, blurred vision, headaches, sensitivity to light – and there’s good reason to believe he will miss only the minimum seven days from the time of the injury, which projects to Tuesday.
“I’m feeling all right today,” Beleskey said. “I’m pretty sore in my neck and back, other than that I’m OK.”
The first concussion of Beleskey’s career came on a hit from behind into
the boards by Stephane Robidas in the Ducks’ 5-2 win Tuesday in Dallas.
Robidas was given a 5-minute major for boarding on the play and,
because it was his second boarding major in the last 41 games, he was
suspended for one game by the league.
Beleskey defended the hit.
“I did watch the replay and that’s a hit that mostly you have to make,” he said. “I’m in a bad spot, I’m on one foot, coming down the wing, taking the shot. Did he have to finish his check? No, but if he doesn’t and I score, he’s going to hear it. I don’t think by any means it’s a bad hit. It’s a bad outcome in a bad situation.”
Cam Fowler skated on his own before practice. A team spokesperson relayed that the 18-year-old defenseman is aiming to play Friday or Saturday. Of course, he wasn’t expected to miss all of the last four games after breaking his nose in the Ducks’ last home game on Oct. 17.
In spite of Fowler’s optimism, head coach Randy Carlyle continued to preach patience.
“I don’t like to put exclamation marks, or any added
pressure, on an 18-year-old hockey player coming back into our lineup,” Carlyle said. “I think
it’s wise to tamper any of the enthusiasm and wait and see when he skates for
us, and we’ll make an assessment of how well he’s played or how effective he’s
been in the game versus making a statement that he’s going to do this or do
that.”
Carlyle didn’t commit to the possibility of adding a player to the lineup prior to the Ducks playing two games in two nights. He sounded content to play with 12 forwards and six defensemen, “but if we had somebody that gets sick, or the flu, or if we have an injury tomorrow, that puts us in a bind to get somebody here for San Jose.”
With the shortage of bodies, there were some new line combinations in practice: Aaron Voros at left wing with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry; and Jason Blake on a fourth line with Kyle Chipchura and George Parros. The other lines (Ryan-Koivu-Selanne and Marchant-Carter-Bodie) remained the same from the Dallas game.
More on that in tomorrow’s editions.
