RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour is hopeful that winger Nikolaj Ehlers and defenseman Alexander Nikishin will be ready for Round 2 of the NHL playoffs with extra time off to recover from injuries.
The Eastern Conference’s top seed closed out a first-round sweep of Ottawa on Saturday, though Ehlers was a late scratch with a lower-body injury. Nikishin was knocked from the second period with a concussion on a jarring hit from Tyler Kleven, leaving Nikishin prone on the ice and struggling to get back to his feet.
The Hurricanes were the first team to advance to Round 2 and next face the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh winner. The Flyers won the first three games, but the Penguins have extended the series to Wednesday’s Game 6.
Neither Ehlers nor Nikishin skated with the team returning to practice Tuesday, though there’s clearly no need to rush them back. Afterward, Brind’Amour said “everything’s trending in the right direction” on Nikishin.
Veteran forward William Carrier took Ehlers’ spot on the third line in Game 4, while Nicolas Deslauriers got his first playoff action since 2022 in taking Carrier’s spot in a testy Game 4 with multiple scrums.
As for the blue liners, veteran Mike Reilly played 42 regular-season games to help the Hurricanes play through the absence of top defenseman Jaccob Slavin for much of the schedule, and is the team’s seventh defenseman.
Additionally, Carolina called up defenseman prospect Charles Alexis Legault — a 22-year-old fifth-round draft pick from the 2023 draft — from the American Hockey League to work with the team.
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl