Sore Neck Keeps Giguere on the Sidelines

There are a few players the Mighty Ducks can ill-afford to lose. They lost one ... at least for one game.

Goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere sat out Friday’s game against Philadelphia because of a sore neck.

“He’s not dead and he’s not playing, so he is somewhere in between,” Coach Mike Babcock said. “It’s day to day, so what does that mean? [Kevin] Sawyer was day to day, how long ago?”

Sawyer, who has a concussion, is no longer listed as day to day. So far, he has sat out six games. The Ducks, who are already struggling, will be in a difficult situation if Giguere is out that long.

Rookie Martin Gerber played in Giguere’s place, and the Ducks recalled rookie Ilja Bryzgalov from minor league Cincinnati.

Giguere said that his pain started Thursday morning but he was confident that he would return soon. Giguere has started 32 of the Ducks’ 34 games this season.

“It’s probably from sleeping the wrong way,” Giguere said. “It’s already better than yesterday. I can slowly move. But to play I have to be able to move faster.”

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The results of the MRI examination that Sawyer underwent Thursday were negative. He hopes to begin working out, first on a stationary bicycle, this weekend. Center Samuel Pahlsson, who left the Ducks in early November, has returned from Sweden and rejoined Cincinnati.

The Ducks had suspended Pahlsson when he left Cincinnati.

-- Chris Foster