Canes get younger; Staal on injured list

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Future may be now

A chunk of the Carolina Hurricanes' future was at the rink Wednesday.

How big or small a chunk, only time will tell.

The Hurricanes practiced Wednesday at Compuware Arena, the home of the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League. On the ice were forwards Brandon Sutter, Zach Boychuk, Jiri Tlusty and Jerome Samson - Samson the oldest at 22 - and all four will again be in the Canes' lineup tonight against the Detroit Red Wings.

New Canes in fast lane

Speed is the biggest difference.

And smarts.

And let's not forget the goaltending.

'Canes place Staal on IR; send Ward to long-term IR

The Carolina Hurricanes have placed forward Eric Staal on injured reserve and moved goaltender Cam Ward to long-term IR.

Staal hasn't played since November 1 against San Jose when he suffered an upper body injury. He has been considered week-to-week and has missed the team's last seven games.

Before the injury, Staal had appeared in 349 straight regular-season games. He has just three goals and two assists in 13 games this season.

Canes could be without Cole, Ruutu

Again, the Carolina Hurricanes face a crucial Game 2 in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Again, they must try to win in the other team's building, coming off a Game 1 loss and needing a split of the first two games to avoid the dreaded 0-2 deficit in a best-of-seven series.

The difference: The Canes could be without injured forwards Tuomo Ruutu and Erik Cole tonight in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Injuries have Canes skating on thin ice

A week from Thanksgiving, could the Carolina Hurricanes' season already be reaching the critical point?

"That might be stretching it a little too much," general manager Jim Rutherford said Wednesday. "We're certainly at an important point, but I would not use the word 'critical.' We're not at that point yet."

But the Hurricanes, who host the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at the RBC Center (7 p.m., FSCR), are ailing. Center Eric Staal, who has missed the past seven games with an upper-body injury, still may be a week from returning. Goaltender Cam Ward continues to heal from a leg laceration suffered Nov. 7 against the Blue Jackets in Columbus, Ohio, and has been placed on long-term injured reserve.