Hockey

Until Ryan Getzlaf gets an MRI later today and learns the severity of the injury he suffered in Monday night's game against the Los Angeles Kings, it's probably too soon to worry about how it affects his Olympic participation.

On the other hand, Canada will need to know, sooner rather than later, if Getzlaf can reasonably be expected to play at something close to full strength. If not, then the team may be obliged to turn elsewhere for reinforcements - likely to the Philadelphia Flyers' versatile Jeff Carter, who was the final forward under consideration for the team, but ultimately lost out to teammate Mike Richards.

According to assistant coach Ken Hitchcock, one of the mistakes Canada made in the 2006 tournament in Turin that resulted in a seventh-place finish - and early exit at the hands of the Russians - was to go to the Olympics with players that were not completely healthy. Two of them - Wade Redden and Chris Pronger - were hobbled by leg injuries that undermined their work. In August, Hitchcock advised the staff that it not make the same mistake again.

Getzlaf's loss would be significant, given that he was penciled as the second-line centre and was scheduled to play with Ducks' teammate Corey Perry, someone with whom he has great chemistry. Without Getzlaf, Perry's effectiveness could be diminished as well.

When executive director Steve Yzerman made his final announcement at the end of December, a handful of NHL players were put on standby and advised to be ready, in case of injury. They have been following the same Olympic dope-testing protocols as the players selected to the team and thus could be easily integrated into the group.

Carter and Richards generally do not play together in Philadelphia, but the former is a versatile player, who can switch easily from wing to centre. In fact, it may well be that if Getzlaf cannot go, the Carolina Hurricanes' Eric Staal would then be slotted into his spot - another big man, who is more comfortable in the middle, but on Canada's depth chart, made the team as a left winger.

All of this speculation is subject to new about the seriousness of Getzlaf's injury, which occurred in the second period of the Ducks' 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings Monday night after he got tangled up with Dustin Brown, the L.A. captain and a member of the American men's Olympic team. Getzlaf left the Honda Centre, with his foot in a protective boot, according to coach Randy Carlyle.

According to TSN, X-rays showed no broken bones. The fear is that Getzlaf suffered a high ankle sprain, which can take weeks and sometimes even months to properly heal. Getzlaf, who has 57 points in 55 games for the Ducks, also missed the August orientation camp, recovering from an off-season sports hernia operation, but after a slow start to the season, was rounding into form by early November.

Four years ago, Getzlaf's teammate, defenceman Scott Niedermayer, withdrew from the Olympic team at the 11th hour for injury reasons as well. Niedermayer's absence was greatly missed.

"Hopefully, he won't be out too long," said Niedermayer, after the game, to the Los Angeles Times. "I don't have to say what he means to this team and what he does for us, so hopefully, it's not bad."

Niedermayer was hopeful that Getzlaf could play in Wednesday's game against the visiting Edmonton Oilers. An update from the Ducks is expected later in the day, following Getzlaf's doctor visit. The Orange County Register ominously reported an unidentified Ducks player as saying of Getzlaf's injury: "It doesn't look good."