The Carolina Hurricanes are heading into Tuesday night’s matchup with the Washington Capitals missing a key piece in Jordan Staal, and the timeline is significant: the captain is expected to be out for at least a month, possibly two, after suffering a partially torn calf.
Rod Brind’Amour addressed the media after morning skate and said the injury was “a freak thing” that happened during warmups over the weekend against the Philadelphia Flyers. According to team reporter Walf Ruff, Brind’Amour also said the club expects to bring up a forward, though it does not have to be a center because Jesperi Kotkaniemi is available to play the middle.
With Staal sidelined and Seth Jarvis also out, Carolina does not have any extra players on the main roster. That has the team looking toward a call-up, and the most likely options appear to be Felix Unger Sorum or Bradly Nadeau from the Chicago Wolves. Both had strong preseason showings, which would make either a reasonable choice.
If one of those forwards is promoted, Nic Deslauriers would become the extra forward again. He can still provide useful minutes here and there, but the Hurricanes clearly need a player who can step in on a more regular basis.
Staal’s absence leaves a real hole. He takes a ton of faceoffs, ranks among the league’s best penalty-kill centers, and is Brind’Amour’s trusted option for matching up against an opponent’s top players. Losing him for this stretch is a tough break, but the Hurricanes are moving forward with the same “next man up” approach they lean on so often.
That puts pressure on Mark Jankowski to handle the third-line center role while Staal is out. Kotkaniemi will slide into the fourth-line center spot for now, though he has already been playing this season. Jankowski has given the team a lift lately, scoring in each of the last four games.
Carolina is still preparing to chase a sixth straight win Tuesday night against the Capitals in Alexander Ovechkin’s last regular-season game at the Lenovo Center.
In Other News...
Capitals Let A Winnable Road Game Slip Away For One Frustrating Reason
The Capitals had a road game in Carolina that was there to be taken, and for a while it looked like they might drag it into a tighter finish. Justin Holl gave them a lift in his Washington debut, finishing off a play from Dylan Strome, while Logan Thompson turned aside 31 shots to keep the margin manageable. Boone Jenner also kept rolling with his third goal in as many games, but the Capitals still had enough chances to stay right there.
Instead, the game kept tilting away from them in the kind of sequence that leaves a bench irritated for the rest of the night. Washington had one goal wiped out on a goaltender interference call, then lost a similar challenge on a Carolina score a few minutes later, and the penalties and momentum swings kept piling up from there. By the end, the 4-2 loss felt less like a runaway and more like one that slipped through their hands for a very specific reason. [Read more 🡒]
Capitals Blue Line Suddenly Has A New Name Fans Need To Watch
The Capitals blue line got a quick new look when the club brought up defenseman Justin Holl from Hershey, adding him into the mix as head coach Spencer Carbery shuffled the lineup. Washington has been balancing veterans and prospects on defense, so Holls arrival gave the group a different feel right away and offered another option at a spot that has been in flux.
Holl wasted little time making an impression in his first game as a Capital, jumping into the offense in the 4-2 loss to Carolina and showing why the staff wanted to see what he could bring. With the defense still adjusting around him, his early impact is giving Washington at least one new name to watch as the group settles in. [Read more 🡒]
Capitals Just Ran Into A Carolina Team Finding Another Gear
The Capitals ran into a Carolina team that has clearly found another level, with the Hurricanes stretching their winning streak to six games in a 4-2 victory. Washington had to deal with a fast, confident group that kept rolling through key contributors, including Sebastian Aho, who set up two goals, and Pyotr Kochetkov, who continued his sharp run in net by picking up his fourth win in four starts.
Carolina also kept getting secondary scoring at the right moments, which has been a big part of why this stretch has looked so convincing. Mark Jankowski added to that momentum by extending his goal streak, a late touch that fit the tone of a night when the Hurricanes looked deeper and more dangerous than the team Washington saw earlier this season. [Read more 🡒]