Giguere Might Not Be Ready to Play

Another bump in a pothole-filled road that has been the Mighty Ducks’ season thus far:

Goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere sat out Wednesday’s game against Carolina and is questionable for tonight’s game against Buffalo because of a groin injury.

“We took the day off [Thursday] so we won’t know whether he will play until we get on the ice [today] for the morning skate,” Coach Mike Babcock said.

Giguere was injured during Monday’s game against Tampa Bay -- just as he had sustained consistency in net. He has a 1.68 goals-against average and .962 save-percentage in his last four starts. That includes shutouts against Colorado and Tampa Bay.

“We don’t think it’s an issue,” Babcock said of the injury.

Backup goalie Martin Gerber played well Wednesday despite suffering from a virus. He gave up one goal. He saw only 18 shots.

Gerber has performed well in extended duty this season, when a struggling Giguere was sent to the bench. Gerber had a 2-0-1 record during one stretch in October and won back-to-back games in early December.

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More than a few Ducks have been underachievers this season, but center Samuel Pahlsson is one player who can say he has played at or above his abilities.

“Sammy is a horse,” forward Petr Sykora said after Monday’s victory over Tampa Bay. “He is tough on the puck and is tough to knock off the puck. That’s good for me because he creates a lot of room for me to work.”

Pahlsson has only one goal and eight points this season. But his strong play on both ends of the ice is what makes him valuable.

“He does the work for the guys on his line,” Babcock said. “He gets in the right spots and looks after things defensively, but then you’ve got to do the other things.”

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TONIGHT

at Buffalo, 5 PST

Site -- HSBC Arena.

Radio -- XTRA 690/1150.

Records -- Ducks 13-15-4-5; Sabres 15-19-3-1.

Record vs. Sabres -- 0-1.

Update -- The Sabres, who have struggled most of the season, have won three of their last four games, including a 7-1 victory over Washington on Wednesday in which Maxim Afinogenov and Miroslav Satan had hat tricks.