Ducks’ John Gibson exits game with upper-body injury

The Anaheim Ducks announced that goaltender John Gibson would not return to Saturday night’s contest versus the Nashville Predators.

Gibson faced 10 shots against and let in one goal in 20:00 minutes of action before being replaced by Lukas Dostal.

Through 20 appearances this season, the veteran netminder has eight wins a 2.76 goals against average and a .914 save percentage.

Gibson missed time this season after undergoing an emergency appendectomy surgery in September that saw him out of action for three to six weeks.

During the 2023-24 campaign, Gibson put up a 13-27-2 record, an .888 save and a 1.02 goals saved above expected in 46 games. While his save% was the worst mark of his career, his GSAx was actually the first time it’s been positive in five years.

Gibson was a second-round pick of the Ducks in the 2011 NHL Draft, and after three seasons mostly in the minors, with the latter two seeing him play some games in the NHL, he finally established himself as a consistent NHLer partway through the 2015-16 season. He’s since spent the past eight seasons as their starting goaltender.

The Pittsburgh native is in the sixth year of an eight-year contract with a $6.4 million cap hit, one he signed as an extension before the 2018-19 season.

Meanwhile, Dostal has 11 wins through 28 appearances this season and could be relied upon more if Gibson’s injury keeps him out of the lineup for the foreseeable future.

Last season, Dostal had a 14-23-3 record, a .902% save percentage, a shutout and a 2.79 GSAx.

The Ducks sit seventh in the Pacific Division with a 19-23-6 record heading into Saturday’s game against the Preds.