Mark Giordano did not practice with the Calgary Flames and had an MRI on Wednesday because of a lower-body injury.
The defenseman was injured at 13:53 of the second period in a 3-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks at Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday when attempting to take a shot.
"He's your captain. It's a huge piece for us," Flames coach Geoff Ward said. "Not only are you losing a guy that's your top-two defenseman, you're losing potentially your leader if it turns out to be something serious for some period of time. Anytime you lose a guy of that stature out of your lineup it has the potential to have a big impact. For us, we have to shield ourselves against that and if he does miss some time that we're ready to step up and fill the void left by him. I don't think one guy can do that, but a lot of guys can.
"One of two things usually happens. You come together as a group and the guys step up together and they all start pulling the rope a little more and it springboards your team into playing harder and playing better and you see that a lot. The other way is to let it affect you in a negative way. We've got a decision to make, obviously, but we're confident that the guys in the lineup are capable of stepping up and that they'll choose Choice A instead of Choice B."
Giordano is the Flames' fifth-leading scorer and highest-scoring defenseman with 27 points (five goals, 22 assists) in 54 games this season, and leads Calgary in ice time, averaging 23:57 per game.
"If you miss a player like that, it's obviously time for someone else to step up, me included," Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson said. "There's six [defensemen] that are playing. We've got to step it up. It's not an easy task because of the minutes and the way he plays every night. It's tough, but the six of us have to step up as a unit."
Giordano has 479 points (134 goals, 345 assists) in 887 games through 14 NHL seasons, all with Calgary. He won the Norris Trophy voted as best defenseman in the NHL after he had an NHL career-high 74 points (17 goals, 57 assists) in 78 games last season.
"This is the time where everybody takes it up a notch within themselves and gets to another gear to make up for that loss," Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk said. "He's the most important guy on our team with the minutes he plays, the situations he plays. He's our captain."
The Flames (27-21-6) are 2-4-1 in their past seven games but hold the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference, three points ahead of the Nashville Predators, Chicago Blackhawks and Winnipeg Jets. Calgary plays Nashville at Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; SN1, FS-TN, NHL.TV).
"Just talking with him a little, we're fine right now," Tkachuk said. "We're in a playoff spot. We go on a run here and we put ourselves in a good spot. Nobody's happy with the situation or thinks it's an ideal situation, but to see how calm he is and how much he trusts in us, we'll be fine."
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