- Hurricanes will be without Nikolaj Ehlers in Game 4 with a lower-body injury
- Nicolas Deslauriers draws in as Carolina protects a 3-0 series lead
- Read below for full details, Ehlers’ impact, and Game 3 video highlights
The Hurricanes will be without one of their top forwards as they look to close out the Senators on Saturday afternoon.
Carolina announced before puck drop that Nikolaj Ehlers will miss Game 4 in Ottawa with a lower-body injury. The team didn’t put a timeline on his return.
Ehlers played 17:06 in Carolina’s 2-1 win on Thursday and finishes the series with one assist through three games. Nicolas Deslauriers steps in to take his spot, and William Carrier slides up to play alongside Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook on the third line.
Losing Ehlers hurts on paper. He finished second on the Hurricanes in regular season scoring with 71 points (26 goals, 45 assists) in 82 games and led the team in power play production with 29 points. Carolina signed him to a six-year, $51 million deal on the third day of free agency last summer, betting his speed and finishing would push them deeper in the spring.
Carolina is in a comfortable spot at 3-0 in the series. Frederik Andersen makes his fourth straight start after going 3-0 with a 0.84 GAA and .964 save percentage so far. The Logan Stankoven, Jackson Blake, and Taylor Hall line scored both goals on Thursday and looks dialed in.
Here’s video of the Game 3 win that put Carolina up 3-0:
Ehlers’ status beyond Game 4 is unclear. If the Hurricanes finish the sweep, he gets a few extra days to heal up before the second round.
Ottawa needs this one to extend the series. Travis Green’s group has played hard but hasn’t been able to solve Andersen, and a Senators team already missing Jake Sanderson is going to need just about everything to go right to push this back to Raleigh.
Game 4 starts at 3 p.m. ET at Canadian Tire Centre.
