Trevor Zegras will be out 6-8 weeks for the Anaheim Ducks due to a broken ankle, the team announced Thursday.
The 22-year-old forward broke his left ankle 6:25 into the first period of a 5-3 win against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday when he slid feet first into the side boards after the stick of Nashville forward Juuso Parssinen got caught in his skates.
Zegras, who was playing his eighth game since missing 20 because of a lower-body injury, will have surgery in the coming days. He led Anaheim in goals (23), assists (42) and points (65) last season.
“It’s hockey; there’s injuries,” Ducks coach Greg Cronin said after a 6-3 loss at the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday. “Everybody goes through it. We’ve had a string of injuries this year, but I don’t even talk to the team about it. It’s part of the game. You’ve got to win with what you’ve got.
“We’ve got to get (scoring) out of what we’ve currently got for players, and we’ve got to find creative ways to generate offense.”
Anaheim defenseman Pavel Mintyukov separated his shoulder Tuesday and will be out six weeks.
Mintyukov was injured when he was hit into the boards by Predators forward Michael McCarron with three minutes left in the third period.
Mintyukov, the No. 10 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, is third among NHL rookie defensemen in points (19; two goals 17 assists) and third among all rookies in assists.
The Ducks (14-26-1) are seventh in the Pacific Division.
“That’s two guys on our team that are important to our future, and even right now,” Anaheim forward Frank Vatrano said. “They’re anchors every single night. I think that’s how our season’s been going; we haven’t really had a full lineup since the first or second game of the season. In the NHL, that’s just stuff you have to deal with.
“It [stinks] that those guys aren’t here with us. We know they want to be here. But at the end of the day, we have to do our jobs.”
Ducks goalie John Gibson allowed five goals on 25 shots Thursday before leaving the game after the second period with an upper-body injury. There was no update.
NHL.com independent correspondent Kurt Dusterberg contributed to this report
