Ducks Lose Ryan Poehling for 6-8 Weeks With MCL Sprain

The Anaheim Ducks are off to a surprisingly decent 2-1 start, but the hockey gods have already decided to test their center depth.

Ryan Poehling is officially on the shelf for the next six to eight weeks with an MCL sprain, according to Daily Faceoff.

"Daily Faceoff reports Poehling is out 6-8 weeks with an MCL sprain."

Losing a depth center in mid-October is not exactly a franchise-altering catastrophe. But it is the kind of early-season annoyance that forces a coaching staff to start throwing lines into a blender before the Halloween candy even hits the shelves.

Anaheim just wrapped up a solid road trip, bouncing back from an opening 5-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers by hanging five goals on the Winnipeg Jets and taking down the Calgary Flames 4-2. Now they have to figure out their bottom-six rotation without one of their reliable checking options.

Six to eight weeks in NHL time means Poehling is sidelined until roughly mid-December. That is a massive chunk of the schedule to miss, and a perfect excuse for the Ducks to find out exactly how deep their prospect pool actually is.

The Ducks host the Flames next, giving Calgary an immediate chance to avenge their weekend loss. Anyone looking at Anaheim's team totals or player props will need to factor in the incoming line shuffle, because someone else is going to have to eat those hard defensive minutes while Poehling rehabs.