The Anaheim Ducks picked up another road win on Saturday night, but it came with a potentially costly scare. Cutter Gauthier, who led the team with 41 goals and 69 points last season, left Anaheim’s 4-2 victory over the Calgary Flames in the first period with an upper-body injury and did not return.

The Ducks announced during the game that Gauthier would not come back. He played just five shifts at Scotiabank Saddledome before exiting, and it remains unclear how the injury occurred. No update on his status was available after the game.

Losing Gauthier for any length of time would be a significant blow. The 22-year-old signed a six-year, $81 million extension in September and had picked up four points through the first five games of this campaign.

He was not the only Anaheim forward to get hurt. Ryan Poehling scored the game-winner, a short-handed goal at 5:35 of the third period, but was injured on the same play when he slid into the goalpost and Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf. Poehling also did not return.

Even with both players out, the Ducks found a way to close it out. Jackson Lacombe opened the scoring on a power play, and Frank Vatrano tipped in a go-ahead goal with 45 seconds left in the first period. After Aydar Suniev tied it late in the second, Poehling’s short-handed tally put Anaheim back in front, and Nikita Nesterenko added insurance at 17:03 of the third.

Ville Husso made 27 saves in his first start of the season. Morgan Frost also scored for Calgary, and Wolf stopped 24 shots in the loss.

Article Continues Below

The win was Anaheim’s second on the road in as many nights after a 5-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets, improving the Ducks to 4-1-0. Calgary, meanwhile, fell to 0-5-0, the first time in franchise history the Flames have opened a season with five straight losses.

This is not the first time Gauthier has been banged up recently. He left a March 30 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs with an upper-body injury and missed five games before returning in April.

The two teams will see each other again quickly. The Ducks host the Flames on Tuesday to finish the home-and-home set, and Anaheim will be hoping for clarity on both Gauthier and Poehling before then.