Ducks’ Cam Fowler out 3 to 7 weeks because of knee injury

The way Cam Fowler awkwardly bent his right knee backward, the Ducks must be somewhat relieved.

The top-pairing defenseman will be sidelined for the next three to seven weeks, the Ducks announced Friday, but it could have been much worse.

It looked grim on Oct. 20, when Fowler injured his knee in a game against the Canadiens in Montreal. Fowler was unable to put any weight on his right leg as he was helped off the ice. He eventually was carried by trainers to the locker room.

Ducks have fallen to the injured list like dominoes this season, so if the Fowler news was worse it could have been catastrophic. The 25-year-old is one of the team’s core players after signing an eight-year, $52 million contract over the summer.

“He’s one of the key parts on the power play and penalty kill and plays against the other’s team top line, usually. He’s like the quarterback on our team,” Ducks defenseman Francois Beauchemin said. “Whenever he’s out we have guys that can step up and play bigger minutes. Hampus [Lindholm] has played well. We expect more from everybody else.”

He’ll be sorely missed in the meantime, but the Ducks did welcome back Lindholm on Tuesday, and Sami Vatanen’s return is right around the corner.

Both top-four defensemen had offseason surgeries to repair torn labrums. By the time Fowler is back, No. 2 center Ryan Kesler (hip surgery) could be close to full health, too, and just maybe the Ducks will be fully armed as the playoff push kicks into gear.

For now, they must contend with the loss of a key player, and their back-end depth will be tested with the added absence of Kevin Bieksa, who traveled home and will miss at least the next two road games with a left-hand injury suffered Tuesday against the Philadelphia Flyers. He will be reevaluated Monday.

So the Ducks (4-4-1) continue to be short-handed as they face r their first back-to-back games of the season: a Saturday game at the Tampa Bay Lightning followed by another at the Carolina Hurricanes.

DUCKS NEXT UP

AT TAMPA BAY

When: Saturday, 4 p.m. PDT

On the air: TV: Prime Ticket; Radio: 830.

Update: Ducks rookie Kalle Kossila, who made his NHL debut last season and played only one game, has a goal and an assist in two games this season after he was recalled from San Diego. … John Gibson was chased from the net for the first time this season after allowing six goals on 17 shots vs. the Panthers. Reto Berra replaced him and made one save on three shots. … Lightning star Steven Stamkos leads the NHL with 21 points, including 17 assists. The leader in goals? Linemate Nikita Kucherov with 12. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy’s nine victories are tops in the league.