Defensemen injured, may not play against Panthers with season on brink
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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Sean Walker and Jalen Chatfield did not participate in the morning skate and are unlikely to play for the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, truTV, MAX, SN, CBC, TVAS).
The defensemen missed Game 3 on Saturday because of undisclosed injuries, a 6-2 loss that put the Hurricanes down 3-0 in the best-of-7 series.
Walker briefly skated in the morning skate and warmups Saturday, but it was determined he wasn’t healthy enough to play. His injury might be a result of a hit from Panthers forward A.J. Greer during the second period of Game 2. Walker did not play in the third period.
Chatfield has missed four straight games, having last played May 12. He was in warmups prior to Game 2 but did not play.
Walker has three points (one goal, two assists) and is averaging 18:24 of ice time in 12 Stanley Cup Playoff games. Chatfield has one goal and is plus-6 in nine games while averaging 20:24 of ice time.
With Chatfield and Walker unavailable, the Hurricanes played rookie defensemen Alexander Nikishin and Scott Morrow in Game 3.
Morrow played his third straight game and was minus-2 in 13:29 of ice time.
Nikishin stood out to coach Rod Brind’Amour in what was his second NHL game. He made his debut in Chatfield’s place in Game 5 of the second round against the Washington Capitals on May 15, when he was limited to 10:33 of ice time.
Nikishin looked more comfortable in Game 3; he was credited with five hits in 18:54 of ice time. He was minus-4 alongside defense partner Dmitry Orlov, whose turnovers led to two goals against and had a third that went in off him.
“In general, I think teams build from their defense out; it’s the most important position other than goaltending is to have that cohesive group back there,” Brind’Amour said Monday. “It’s something we’ve had over the years really, really locked down and when you lose a couple of guys that are so important to that and are throwing in guys that haven’t played at this level, you’re asking a lot.
“We’re going to go back this summer and [when] you get in the playoffs you’ve got to make sure you probably have a little more depth in that spot, just because it’s not fair to put those guys in that situation. Having said that, they’ve done a great job. … Nikishin the other night, I was really proud of him how from one game to the next the change was something good. I think we’ve got a good one there. And Morrow hung in there, too, so good on those guys.”
Brind’Amour said the Hurricanes will go back to Frederik Andersen in goal. Pyotr Kochetkov allowed six goals on 28 shots in Game 3, including five on 13 in the third period after the game was 1-1 through 40 minutes. Andersen gave up nine goals on 36 shots in Games 1 and 2.
FLA vs. CAR | EDM vs. DAL
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OTT vs. TOR | FLA vs. TBL | MTL vs. WSH | NJD vs. CAR
STL vs. WPG | COL vs. DAL | MIN vs. VGK | EDM vs. LAK
