- Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal missed Sunday’s win over the Flyers with a lower-body injury
- Rod Brind’Amour is hoping it won’t keep him out long
- Read below for who replaced him and what’s next against Ovechkin’s Capitals
The Hurricanes played without their captain on Sunday night.
Jordan Staal missed Carolina’s 4-1 win over the Flyers in Philadelphia with a lower-body injury, and nobody knows yet whether he’ll be back Tuesday. Hurricanes PR announced it a few hours before puck drop:
Staal was ruled out just before warmups. Rod Brind’Amour was asked about the injury after the game and said it popped up late.
“It kind of came up last minute,” Brind’Amour said. “Hopefully it’s nothing serious and won’t keep him out too long.”
Staal hasn’t recorded a point through his first six games of the season. He won the Conn Smythe in June after Carolina’s run to its second Stanley Cup.
Mark Jankowski slid into Staal’s spot on the third line with Nikolaj Ehlers and Jordan Martinook. He scored in the third period to stretch his goal streak to four games.
Brind’Amour talked about how his group handled a short turnaround with key players out, per the NHL.com game recap.
“We’ve had a lot of hockey here in a short amount of time, and then we’ve got a couple guys out that are big parts, and other guys are just stepping up,” he said.
Watch the Hurricanes-Flyers highlights:
The win was Carolina’s fifth in a row and moved the Hurricanes to 5-1-1, back in first place in the Metropolitan Division after an 0-1-1 start.
Next up is Tuesday against the Capitals at Lenovo Center, the final regular-season visit for Alex Ovechkin in his farewell season. Carolina skates before that game, so Staal’s status could come into focus then.
