Eric Stephens of The Athletic is reporting that Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson left tonight’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins and will not return. The 30-year-old netminder did not come out to the ice for the start of the second period after suffering what the team called an upper-body injury.
Gibson appeared to tweak either his back or something on his side when he made an unbelievable save on Sidney Crosby that could be a save-of-the-year candidate. Unfortunately for the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native, the save might have come at a cost as he was in some discomfort after getting twisted around making the blind stick save.
Lukas Dostal came out to start the second period for the Ducks in Gibson’s absence. The 23-year-old netminder has been good thus far for Anaheim posting a 3-1 record with a .915 save percentage in four games thus far this season. It’s early in the year, but Dostal has been the better of the two goalies in the early stages as Gibson is 1-3 with a .905 save percentage.
Gibson was once thought to be among the upper echelon of goaltenders in the NHL, however, over the last five seasons his play has dropped off dramatically as he has found his name in trade rumor mills on a pretty regular basis. Last season, Gibson went 14-31-8 with a .899 save percentage and 3.99 goals against average.
The Ducks were picked by many to be at the bottom of the standings at the end of the season, however, they have surprised some people with a 4-4 start to the season.