With Warren Foegele’s injury, the Canes are running out of forwards heading into Game 4
With Nino Niederreiter, Vincent Trocheck and now Warren Foegele potentially out of the lineup, the Carolina Hurricanes could be without 47 regular-season goals for Game 4 against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
Foegele took a blind-side hit to the left shoulder late in Thursday’s second period and lasted just one shift in the third before leaving for good, the latest Hurricanes forward to exit.
Niederreiter didn’t make the trip after being injured in practice last weekend and Trocheck was supposed to give it a try in warmups Thursday but never took the ice; he hurt his right leg in an ankle-to-ankle collision with Foegele in Game 2.
“I think both those guys will try (Saturday) and we’ll see,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Friday. “But no medical update.”
Morgan Geekie made his postseason debut this season in Game 3. Max McCormick, who made the trip with the team as an extra forward, would draw into the lineup next if Foegele and Trocheck are both out for Game 4. Brind’Amour said he was not inclined to dress seven defensemen instead.
The Hurricanes have said “next man up” all season but they’re running out of next men, so could (or would) the Hurricanes could call up 2020 first-round pick Seth Jarvis, who had 11 points in nine games during his time with Chicago (AHL) this season, as they run low on skilled forwards? Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“As a group, we always want to play the same way,” Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal said. “The guys who have come in have played really well. They’re preparing as pros. (Geekie) had a great game, a bunch of chances. We’re going to have other guys come in and out. That’s the playoffs. That’s the unfortunate part of it. We’re not going to get through a playoff run without injuries. Hopefully the depth our group has can get us through.”
‘It’s playoff hockey’
Brett Pesce wasn’t thrilled with the neutral-zone hit by Nikita Kucherov late in the first period that bloodied his lip and led to him being pulled by the NHL for concussion testing. Pesce came back to start the second and scored the game’s first goal with a shot from the point five minutes into the period.
“I thought it was maybe a little dirty,” Pesce said, “but it’s playoff hockey.”
Keeping it close
One thing that hasn’t changed from the first-round series against the Nashville Predators: The tiny margin for error. The Hurricanes briefly took a two-goal lead Thursday, but the vast majority of their entire playoff run has been played without that kind of cushion.
Over 620:10 of postseason hockey, the Hurricanes have had a two-goal lead for 8:53 and the opposition for 17:43. The rest has been played tied or within a goal. The seven consecutive one-goal finishes are the longest run by any NHL team since the Ottawa Senators played eight straight in 2017.
Thursday was also the Hurricanes’ fifth overtime game this postseason (3-2), the most in franchise history through the first nine playoff games, but still with some way to go overall. The Hurricanes played nine OT games in 2002 (7-2), seven in 2006 (4-3), four in 2009 (3-1) and three in 2019 (2-1).
Tailwinds
With a goal and two assists Thursday, Sebastian Aho took sole possession of fourth place in franchise playoff scoring, passing Kevin Dineen. He trails only Eric Staal, Ron Francis and Brind’Amour. … Teravainen’s assist on Aho’s goal was his first on any Aho goal this season. “I guess that’s good,” Teravainen said. “Hopefully there’s more coming.”
Hurricanes at Lightning
When: 4 p.m., Saturday
Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Fla.
Watch: USA
This story was originally published June 4, 2021 at 1:32 PM with the headline "With Warren Foegele’s injury, the Canes are running out of forwards heading into Game 4."
