Back pain slowing down Lupul
Back problems are keeping former Flyer Joffrey Lupul out of the Anaheim Ducks lineup.
After missing his third consecutive game Wednesday, Lupul said the spasms that initially flared near the end of training camp have not subsided but became too much to deal with after a game last week against Tampa Bay.
"It's basically just been bothering me the entire time," Lupul said. "And then finally it kind of locked up. I got some advice from different specialists and things like that.
"The best thing is to just shut it down for a while and hopefully come back and try to play pain-free."
Ducks coach Randy Carlyle thinks Lupul will resume skating in a few days, but the player is much more cautious.
"It's just a day-by-day thing right now," he said. "I just got an injection in there yesterday. Hopefully that can calm down some of the inflammation, and then I've got to see from there."
Lupul, acquired by Anaheim with Luca Sbisa and draft choices in the Chris Pronger trade in June, has six goals and four assists in 20 games. He had 25 goals and 25 assist in 79 games last season.
He said the pain isn't to the point where he has to consider surgery.
"It's gone up and down," he said. "Some days it's really serious, some days it's not. But it's just something that had to be done so I can come back and try to play as close to pain-free as
possible."
In a game last night:
* At Ottawa, Nick Foligno scored a power-play goal with 6 minutes, 10 seconds left in regulation to help the Senators beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 2-1.
Foligno moved out from behind the net to put a backhander past goalie Steve Mason with Columbus defenseman Jan Hejda in the penalty box.
Jason Spezza scored late in the first period and Brian Elliott stopped 32 shots in his third straight start for Ottawa, which had a four-game winning streak ended by a 3-1 loss in New Jersey on Wednesday night.
Kristian Huselius scored a power-play goal for the Blue Jackets, who dropped their fourth in a row.
