Injury to Sideline Ducks’ Semenov Six to Eight Weeks

The Mighty Ducks have been hit by the kind of blow an expansion team doesn’t need.

The first-year Ducks have lost their leading scorer, Anatoli Semenov, who is expected to be sidelined six to eight weeks because of a dislocated left elbow he suffered when he was caught in a check by teammate Stu Grimson during Tuesday’s loss to Florida.

“You know it’s a long night when your best check was against your own player, by your own player,” said General Manager Jack Ferreira, who didn’t fault Grimson’s judgment on the play. “He was trying to hit the other guy (Dave Lowry) and the other guy moved.”

Semenov, 31, who leads the Ducks in goals with nine and assists with 15, was caught on the edge of the collision against the boards as Grimson, who is 6 feet 5 and 227 pounds, took aim at Lowry.

Coach Ron Wilson calls Semenov easily the team’s best player, and the center has figured in nearly a third of the team’s 77 goals.

The Ducks are 9-18-2 heading into a stretch in which they play 10 of 13 games on the road. The outlook is grim for a team that averaged only 2.65 goals per game with Semenov in the lineup.

The Ducks will probably recall center Jarrod Skalde from minor league affiliate San Diego of the International League. Skalde, 22, has 33 points in 23 games. The Ducks acquired him in the expansion draft, but sent him to San Diego before the season.