Carolina Hurricanes star forward Max Pacioretty just returned from a long injury-related absence, and with three goals in his first three games, it looked as though he’d fully put his health woes behind him. That assumption may have been a bit premature, though, as the Hurricanes have announced that Pacioretty will not return to tonight’s game due to a lower-body injury.
Thankfully, according to the Hurricanes, the injury is not related to the Achilles injury he just recovered from. But beyond that bit of information, what Pacioretty is exactly dealing with remains a mystery. Pacioretty has dealt with significant injury issues in recent years, managing to play in just 39 games last season. He had 37 points in that span, though, indicating just how valuable he can be when healthy. The Hurricanes will have to hope that this new injury is a relatively minor one.
Some other injury notes:
- Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews missed his second straight game tonight as he battles a lingering injury. ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reports that Matthews hasn’t been 100% this season, but has played through his injury thus far to help the Maple Leafs. Kaplan reports that Matthews, who has scored 47 points in 41 games this year, is likely to return on Saturday.
- As reported by The Athletic’s Arthur Staple, New York Rangers forward Julien Gauthier will not return to tonight’s game due to an upper-body injury. Gauthier was hurt after a collision with teammate Sammy Blais, who managed to return to the game. Gauthier, 25, is in his fourth season with the Rangers and has nine points in 31 games.
Best hit Blais has thrown all season.
Random but I made the mistake of reading the comments of a Penguins article on the Athletic and was once again reminded that we have such a dumb fan base.
It’s not THE dumbest fan base, BUT relative to the amount of success and greatness this fan base has witnessed, it’s the dumbest when you grade on a curve.
Talk about the Rangers can’t get out of their own way.