Canes battle injury, illness while prepping for Flyers and Blues. Who’s in, who’s out
After a two-game road trip to Florida, the Carolina Hurricanes are back home for two games, but they’re facing a question: Who will or won’t be able to play?
After taking Wednesday off, the Canes returned to practice Thursday, but forwards Martin Necas and Jesper Fast were missing. The Canes are already without forward Nino Niederreiter, defenseman Brett Pesce and goalie Antti Raanta, who all missed the Florida trip because of injuries.
Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Necas, who had the overtime winner Tuesday against Tampa Bay, and Fast did not feel well and that sitting them out was precautionary. He said both tested negative for COVID-19.
Niederreiter, Pesce and Raanta all skated before practice Thursday, Brind’Amour said.
“That’s a positive,” Brind’Amour said.
Who plays Friday against the Philadelphia Flyers? That will be determined after the Canes’ morning skate Friday at PNC Arena, although Brind’Amour said the return of Pesce, Niederreiter or Raanta was “very doubtful.”
That brought up another question: Will goalie Frederik Andersen play against both the Flyers on Friday and then Saturday against the St. Louis Blues?
Andersen is expected to start against the Flyers (6-2-2) in the Metropolitan Division game. In the Canes’ 10-1-0 start, Andersen has been in net 10 times — a lot of early season work for the 32-year-old goalie, even with many of the games spread out.
Brind’Amour said if Raanta shows improvement, there’s a chance he could go against the Blues to complete the back-to-back. Raanta was injured against Florida on Saturday, coming in to relieve Andersen and then being leveled on a hit by the Panthers’ Ryan Lomberg as he came out of the crease to play the puck.
The Canes recalled goalie Alex Lyon from the Chicago Wolves and Lyon has 22 games of NHL experience. He could be an option, too.
Another callup from Chicago, forward Josh Leivo, was with the Canes for the Tampa Bay game but did not dress. Leivo was working on the fourth line with center Derek Stepan and winger Jordan Martinook in Thursday’s practice.
With Necas and Fast out, Sebastian Aho centered Andrei Svechnikov and rookie Seth Jarvis, and Vincent Trocheck was at center with Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Teuvo Teravainen. Jordan Staal had Steven Lorentz on a wing, with others alternating as 11 forwards were on the ice.
Fast has been one of the Canes’ most consistent players and has five goals, one shy of his total last season. Necas brings the speed and the ability to break down defenses.
Pesce has missed the past two games after slamming into the boards in the Nov. 3 game at Chicago, and Niederreiter has been out since the Oct. 29 home game against the Blackhawks with a lower-body injury.
Brind’Amour said the Canes “played hard for 60 minutes” in beating the Lightning at Amalie Arena. That came three days after Carolina’s first loss of the season, a 5-2 beating by the Panthers in which little went right and Raanta had to be helped off the ice.
“It as a good response by our team,” center Sebastian Aho said Thursday. “it wasn’t our best at Florida, especially in the first period. That’s what good teams do — they bounce back. Obviously Tampa is as good as it gets and to be able to win in their rink is good.”
DeAngelo fined $2,000 by NHL
Canes defenseman Tony DeAngelo has been fined $2,000 as supplementary discipline, the NHL said Thursday. DeAngelo was fined under the NHL rule for diving/embellishment.
A player is given a warning for the first citation, then fined $2,000 for the second citation. DeAngelo received a warning for a play in the Oct. 31 game against Arizona, then a second citation for a play involving Florida Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling in the Nov. 6 game.
This story was originally published November 11, 2021 at 4:00 PM.
