The Anaheim Ducks are starting 2017-18 with their wings clipped.

Head coach Randy Carlyle announced Ryan Getzlaf will not be able to suit up for Thursday's season opener against the Arizona Coyotes as a result of a lower-body injury.

As such, Anaheim takes an early lead in a dubious category:

Getzlaf joins significant teammates also starting the season on the sidelines:

• Ryan Kesler - recovering from hip surgery
• Sami Vatanen - recovering from labrum surgery
• Hampus Lindholm - recovering from labrum surgery
• Ryan Miller - upper body
• Patrick Eaves - lower body

At last official word, the Ducks are hopeful Kesler can return from hip injury by the holiday break in December, while Lindholm and Vatanen should play at some point in November. All three represent important pieces for the reigning Pacific Division champions.

The other two aren't expected to be out long term, but are no less integral to the team's success. Eaves - who scored 33 goals last season between Dallas and Anaheim - was a major trade-deadline addition and was signed to a three-year contract in the offseason with a view to boosting the offense.

Miller, meanwhile, was signed as a free agent to spell John Gibson in net. Reto Berra steps into that role in his absence, meaning Gibson may have to carry a heavier load than necessary right out of the gate.

Anaheim has the depth on the blue line to survive, but its forward ranks look pretty thin without Getzlaf, Kesler, and Eaves:

(Image courtesy: Daily Faceoff)

Playoff spots and championships obviously aren't clinched in October, but teams can ill afford to get off to a rocky start in a league that boasts a fairly level playing field.

The Alberta teams are chomping at the bit to hunt the Ducks, and Anaheim's California neighbors will need all the help they can get to stay in a playoff picture likely to be loaded with Central Division clubs.

If these Ducks stay grounded for too long, all bets are off in the Pacific.

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The Carolina Hurricanes have settled on a pair of captains for 2017-18: forward Jordan Staal and defenseman Justin Faulk.

Head coach Bill Peters said Staal and Faulk will alternate wearing the "C" between home and road games, while forward Jeff Skinner will serve as an assistant captain all season.

The Hurricanes have been without a captain since the departure of Jordan's brother Eric Staal in 2015.

Since the team moved from Hartford to Carolina, the captaincy has also been held by Rod Brind'Amour, Kevin Dineen, Keith Primeau, and current general manager Ron Francis.

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With NHL rosters finalized and the season underway, we take a look at the top 10 players not currently playing in the NHL.

10. Rasmus Dahlin

Dahlin is the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NHL draft. The 6-foot-2 Swedish blue-liner is currently playing for Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League, and already has a goal and assist in four games. Not bad for a 17-year-old playing with grown men.

He's fast, he's skilled, and he's nasty. Frolunda veteran Joel Lundqvist, the twin brother of Henrik, claims he's never played with a better prospect. And that's saying a lot considering he played with a young Erik Karlsson.

9. Jesse Puljujarvi

Puljujarvi wasn't good enough to make the Oilers out of camp, but he's good enough to be on this list. The 19-year-old is a rare blend of size (6-foot-4, 211 pounds) and speed. There's a lot of NHL rosters he would probably be on, but the Oilers decided that a little more seasoning can't hurt.

8. Kirill Kaprizov

Kaprizov, 20, was a fifth-round pick by the Wild back in 2015, and has already proved to be a steal, without stepping foot on an NHL rink. Last season in the KHL, he set a league record for most points in a season by a teenager with 42, surpassing Evgeny Kuznetsov. He was also the Forward of the Tournament at the 2017 World Juniors, leading the tournament with nine goals.

Kaprizov is proving that 2016-17 was no fluke, as he already has seven goals and five assists in 13 games this season.

7. Kasperi Kapanen

Kapanen simply got caught in a numbers game. Toronto's depth on the wings is second-to-none in the league. The Finn proved to be too good for the AHL a year ago, tallying 43 points in as many games as a 20-year-old. With his quickness and offensive skill, it's scary to think what he'll do this year.

6. Thomas Chabot

Chabot was the best defenseman in the CHL last year, and took home MVP honors at the 2017 World Juniors. He has the potential to be a true No. 1 defenseman, but Ottawa opted to send him to the minors to work on the finer details of his game. He's big, he can skate, and he's creative offensively. Don't anticipate him being in the minors long.

5. Pavel Datsyuk

Datsyuk may be 39 years old now, but he could certainly still play in the NHL if he wanted to. In his last season with Detroit, he still averaged 0.72 points per game in an injury-riddled campaign. He's off to a good start in the KHL this year, as he has already collected 22 points in 18 games.

Though his speed and explosiveness has obviously declined, his hands, smarts, and dominance in the faceoff circle that made him a perennial Selke candidate would still make him an effective player in the NHL today.

4. Eeli Tolvanen

It may be early, but Eeli Tolvanen is already looking like the steal of the 2017 NHL Draft. Chosen 30th overall by the Predators, Tolvanen already has 10 goals and eight assists in 14 games in the KHL, placing him ninth in points and sixth in goals in league scoring. Not bad for an 18-year-old.

3. Nikita Gusev

Gusev, a seventh-round pick by the Lightning in 2012, has become a star over in Russia. In 18 KHL games this year, he is leading the league in points with 27. This is no fluke, either, as he finished fourth in league scoring a year ago with 71 points.

Gusev's rights are now owned by the Vegas Golden Knights, and he would surely be a marquee player for them if he didn't just sign a two-year extension with SKA St. Petersburg.

2. Slava Voynov

Despite his terrible actions off the ice, Voynov is the best defenseman outside the NHL. Keep in mind, he was a 22-minute per night defenseman on a Stanley Cup-winning team in Los Angeles, and that was when he was 24 years old. Voynov is now 27 and in the prime of his career, as evidenced by his 37-point season a year ago.

1. Ilya Kovalchuk

Kovalchuk may be 34 years old now, but there's no doubting that he would still be able to make an impact in the NHL today. He's coming off a career-best 78-point season in the KHL, and is showing no signs of slowing down this year, as he already has 16 goals in 18 games. He still has a lethal shot, and that plays in any league.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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In the words of "Slap Shot" icon Jim Carr, "Good seats are still available."

The Ottawa Senators will open their season on home ice Thursday against the Washington Capitals, but there are no assurances the game will be played before a full house.

Speaking Wednesday with Sportsnet's "Prime Time Sports," Senators owner Eugene Melnyk was unsure if the team's first game of the campaign would bring a maximum capacity crowd to the Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata.

"I don't know. We're trying, but if we can't, we can't. What are you going to do?" Melnyk said. "Yeah, we could go out and stand on the corner and sell them for the best price. If we do (sell out), that's great. If we don't, well, it's a long season."

The issue of empty seats has long dogged the Senators, who were unable to sell out postseason contests last year despite the team finishing one goal shy of a Stanley Cup Finals berth.

Last month, Ottawa took aim at its attendance woes by announcing it will remove 1,500 upper-level seats in an effort to create a more intimate crowd at the home rink.

"What's crazy, it's the 'cheapy' seats that don't sell," Melnyk added. "By the way, that's what we covered up. We covered up 1,500 of the cheapest seats in the stadium because they're such an eyesore and people don't want to sit up there."

According to ESPN, the Senators averaged 16,744 in attendance last season, ranking 21st league wide, a figure that falls three spots lower when based on percentage, the worst showing among Canadian clubs.

The Senators feel a move out of suburban Kanata and closer to their greater fan base in Ottawa's city center will improve the box-office performance. The club has submitted a bid to build in the downtown district of LeBreton Flats, and hopes to have a deal in place by early 2018.

In the meantime, fans could also be skeptical to show up Thursday due to the absence of superstar defenseman and captain Erik Karlsson, who won't be in the lineup as he continues to recover from offseason foot surgery.

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On a night when the defending champions raised their second straight Stanley Cup banner, the most followed team in the league poured in seven goals, and Connor McDavid scored a hat trick, it was pretty tough to stand out.

Wayne Simmonds is probably used to quietly going about his business by now, though, and the Philadelphia Flyers forward did just that to start the 2017-18 season, netting a hat trick of his own versus the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night.

Simmonds is by no means a flashy player, yet he's among the most prolific goal-scoring wingers the NHL has to offer. His performance versus the Sharks was a prototypical example of what makes him so effective.

Two of Simmonds' goals were scored with the man advantage, both coming off deflections from his office just outside the crease. Last season, Simmonds totaled 16 power-play tallies, the second-highest total in the NHL. Looking at the data, it's easy to identify where he does his damage.

(Chart courtesy: hockeyviz.com)

Simmonds added an empty-netter to complete the third three-goal night of his career, giving him an early advantage in his attempt to reach the 30-goal plateau for a third consecutive season.

Over the past two seasons, Simmonds has combined for 63 goals, which ranks 12th league-wide. He's convincingly outscored Flyers teammates Claude Giroux (36) and Jakub Voracek (31) over that span, and both those players earn over $8 million per season, compared to Simmonds' $3.975-million cap hit. Talk about bang for your buck.

Simmonds' sparkling debut may have fallen through the cracks during a thrilling opening night, but with the way he scores goals, he's bound to catch the hockey world's attention sooner or later.

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On a night when the defending champions raised their second straight Stanley Cup banner, the most followed team in the league poured in seven goals, and Connor McDavid scored a hat trick, it was pretty tough to stand out.

Wayne Simmonds is probably used to quietly going about his business by now, though, and the Philadelphia Flyers forward did just that to start the 2017-18 season, netting a hat trick of his own versus the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night.

Simmonds is by no means a flashy player, yet he's among the most prolific goal-scoring wingers the NHL has to offer. His performance versus the Sharks was a prototypical example of what makes him so effective.

Two of Simmonds' goals were scored with the man advantage, both coming off deflections from his office just outside the crease. Last season, Simmonds totaled 16 power-play tallies, the second-highest total in the NHL. Looking at the data, it's easy to identify where he does his damage.

(Chart courtesy: hockeyviz.com)

Simmonds added an empty-netter to complete the third three-goal night of his career, giving him an early advantage in his attempt to reach the 30-goal plateau for a third consecutive season.

Over the past two seasons, Simmonds has combined for 63 goals, which ranks 12th league-wide. He's convincingly outscored Flyers teammates Claude Giroux (36) and Jakub Voracek (31) over that span, and both those players earn over $8 million per season, compared to Simmonds' $3.975-million cap hit. Talk about bang for your buck.

Simmonds' sparkling debut may have fallen through the cracks during a thrilling opening night, but with the way he scores goals, he's bound to catch the hockey world's attention sooner or later.

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As expected, Ottawa Senators captain Erik Karlsson will miss the club's season opener Thursday as he recovers from offseason foot surgery.

Though he won't be in the lineup versus the Washington Capitals, general manager Pierre Dorion said he's hopeful Karlsson will be ready to go Saturday when Ottawa hosts the Red Wings.

Karlsson underwent surgery to repair torn tendons in his foot following the Senators' run to the Eastern Conference Final, and previously stated he won't play until he's 100 percent, no matter how long it may take.

With Karlsson unavailable, here's a look at the Senators' defensive pairings.

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The Ottawa Senators signed defenseman Mark Borowiecki to a two-year contract extension which will carry an average annual value of $1.2 million.

The 28-year-old recorded one goal and two assists in a career-high 70 games last season, and led the NHL in both hits (364) and penalty minutes (154) despite missing 12 games.

Borowiecki was drafted 139th overall in 2008, and was the first Ottawa native selected by the Senators.

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The Buffalo Sabres will begin the new season with a group of leaders.

The four-man group of Ryan O'Reilly, Zach Bogosian, Kyle Okposo, and Jack Eichel will wear the "A"s for the Sabres this season, the team announced Thursday.

The news comes just two days after the Sabres signed Eichel to an eight-year, $80-million extension, making him the face of the franchise.

Brian Gionta, who remains an unrestricted free agent, captained the Sabres for the past three seasons. O'Reilly and defenseman Josh Gorges served as alternate captains last year.

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The San Jose Sharks appear to have sniffed out something worthwhile in Kevin Labanc.

To begin 2017-18, the 21-year-old winger is being given every chance to succeed at the NHL level. He's being deployed on the top line alongside Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski, and being offered power-play time to boot.

He made good with two goals in the first period of Wednesday's eventual loss to Philadelphia, becoming the first Sharks player to achieve that feat in a season opener.

Both goals were nice, but the first showed off some special skill.

Here's what you need to know about the forward who could be counted on to replace some of the offense lost when Patrick Marleau decided to bolt for Toronto.

Where did he come from?

A native of Staten Island, N.Y., Labanc opted join the OHL's Barrie Colts in the 2013-14 season rather than go to college.

Labanc posted modest numbers as an OHL rookie, recording 11 goals and 24 assists in 65 games. That may explain why he fell to the sixth round of the 2014 NHL Draft, where the Sharks snagged him with the 171st pick.

Back in Barrie for two more seasons, his numbers simply exploded. Over his next 133 OHL games, Labanc scored 80 goals and added 164 assists for 244 total points, good for a point-per-game average of 1.83.

Labanc made his pro debut in 2016-17, splitting the season between the Sharks and the team's AHL affiliate Barracuda. He was used sparingly in 55 NHL games, but managed to chip in eight goals (all at even strength) and 12 assists while averaging less than 14 minutes a night. In the minors, however, he averaged a point per game with six goals and 13 assists in 19 appearances.

A strong showing this preseason - where he scored three goals in five preseason games - helped him nab his new plum line assignment.

What's next?

It wasn't all sunshine and roses for Labanc on Wednesday, as he was in the penalty box for three power-play goals scored by the Flyers.

Head coach Pete Deboer, however, saw more to like than not.

"I don't hold him responsible for a couple of the three," Deboer said after the game, per NHL.com. "He'll learn from his mistakes and where to back off. You can't teach what he does. A lot of the night, he was our best player."

There's still some learning to do, then, but it was an encouraging start to the season for Labanc, despite the loss. Based on his performance, he seems primed to continue to take a bite out of the opposition on a nightly basis.

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