Ducks’ Lukas Dostal out 2-3 weeks with upper-body injury

The Anaheim Ducks have announced that goaltender Lukas Dostal will be out of the lineup for two-to-three weeks due to an upper-body injury.

The cause of Dostal’s injury is not known, as he had played the entirety of his previous game, a 4-3 overtime win over the Vegas Golden Knights last Saturday. He was originally considered to be day-to-day when the injury was first announced on Wednesday, but upon further evaluation, he is going to need more time to recover from the injury.

Based on Dostal’s current timeline for return, he’s expected to miss roughly 10 games, including the game he’s already missed since sustaining the injury. He hasn’t been placed on injured reserve yet, but given the timeline for return, it wouldn’t be surprising if he was at some point.

Dostal has been incredible so far this season, and he’s been a been a big part of the Ducks’ hot start. Through 17 games, he has an 11-5-1 record with a .904 save percentage and a 10 5v5 goals saved above expected, the latter stat being the fourth-best in the league.

Dostal is in the first year of a five-year contract with a $6.5 million cap hit that he signed in the summer. The 2018 third-round pick is in his fifth NHL season with the Ducks, and his second season as the team’s starting goaltender.

With Dostal hurt, Petr Mrazek is expected to get the starters workload, although it wouldn’t be surprising if it was in more of a tandem situation with Ville Husso than it would be with a healthy Dostal. Mrazek has a 3-3-0 record, an .881 SV% and a 2.12 5v5 GSAx in five games this season. Husso hasn’t played in the NHL this season, but has a 6-4-3 record, a .908 SV% and three shutouts in 13 games with the San Deigo Gulls in the AHL so far this season.