Modified Tue, Oct 13, 2009 12:32 AM
Injuries' effects linger
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close xOnly Joni Pitkanen knows if his knee will have recovered enough for the Carolina Hurricanes defenseman to play Wednesday. (He did not practice with the team Monday.)
Whether he does or not, he's the latest in a long line of key Hurricanes whose training-camp injuries have lingered into the season, Tuesday's Top Five.
5. Bob Boughner, hand, 2003-04: Along with Danny Markov, Boughner was obtained in the offseason as part of a rebuilding project on the blue line, but he broke a hand in a preseason fight and missed seven games. By February, he had been traded away in a salary-dumping move having played only 43 games for Carolina.
4. Joni Pitkanen, knee, 2009-10: Without Pitkanen to stabilize the defense, the Hurricanes are not only the most penalized team in the NHL but have given up eight power-play goals in five games -- tied for the most in the NHL -- to fall to 2-3-0. He has played a total of two periods this season.
3. Martin Gerber, hip, 2005-06: After he was a late scratch from Carolina's final exhibition with a sore back, Gerber pulled himself from the Hurricanes' opening loss at the Tampa Bay Lightning after two periods, turning the net over to Cam Ward for their home opener and the next four games.
2. Rod Brind'Amour, 2008-09: Coming off reconstructive knee surgery, Brind'Amour tweaked his knee while running trainer Pete Friesen's 5K race before training camp and missed the preseason. Brind'Amour didn't get up to speed until the team gave him some time off in January, and at one point, the two-time Selke Trophy winner's plus-minus was the worst in the NHL.
1. Frantisek Kaberle and Cory Stillman, shoulders, 2006: These two have to be taken as a pair, because their training-camp shoulder surgeries for injuries sustained during the playoffs kept both out for most of the ensuing season, and neither returned at full strength. With those two so important in 2005-06, their injuries were a big reason the Hurricanes missed the playoffs in 2007.
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