MAJOR Hurricanes Announcement..| Carolina Hurricanes Update

Jordan Staal is out, and just like that, the Carolina Hurricanes have been dealt a massive blow. What we thought might be a short-term injury has turned into something much more serious. Rod Brendamore has confirmed that the captain has a tear in his calf, and here's what makes the timing even worse. Carolina has won five straight games, going for six tonight against the only team that's beating them in regulation the Washington Capitals welcome to Hurricanes Digest, I'm Jeff Testanero, I invite you all to like, share, comment and subscribe, click that subscribe button drive that number up, let's make this the number one Hurricanes dedicated channel right here on YouTube, also I want you to go over to our X and click follow at Canes Digest for more hurricane stuff anytime you want it, oh boy this is not good this is the biggest hurricane story since Jarvis going down Walt Ruff reported earlier today that Rod Brind'Amour confirmed Jordan Staal has a tear in his calf, at the projected absence anywhere from one to two months, this is completely different than what we were discussing after Sunday's win in Philly, remember Brind'Amour initially said the injury came up at the last minute and expressed hope that it wouldn't keep Staal out long, now we know the injury is much more significant than initially hoped and for a team with legitimate expectations of competing for another Stanley Cup, losing your captain for potentially eight weeks can be a serious challenge, they already don't have, they already don't have Jarvis, now they're without Staal, now Staal has been putting up some really good offensive numbers so far, but anybody who watches the Canes understands his importance goes well beyond the score sheet, he's one of Carolina's most trusted defensive forwards, he takes difficult matchups, uh wins important face-offs and gives Rod Brind'Amour a dependable option against opponent style players that responsibility now has to be spread through the rest of the lineup and here's where Sunday's lineup became important Walt Ruff shared Carolina's combinations without Staal before the Flyers game Mark Jankowski moved into the third line center position between Ehlers and Martinuk and that could be a significant part of Carolina's plan moving forward because this is no longer a one game adjustment. This could be Carolina's reality for the next several weeks. Let's not forget the leadership aspect. Staal recently passed Rod Brind'Amour for third place in franchise history in assists. He's been a foundational part of this organization for years and replacing that experience isn't going to be easy at all um so let's take a look at the lineup Carolina is expected to use against Washington uh we said before you know we had Jankowski over on line three with the guys there but tonight your first line is William Carrier Sebastian Aho Andrei Svechnikov line two of course it's the Hall Staal Blake line line three just like Sunday Ehlers Jankowski and Martinuk and your fourth line will be Eric Robinson Jesperi Kokkonen and Nick Delorier on defense Jacob Slavin and Jalen Chatfield Keandre Miller and Sean Walker Shane Gostisbehere Mike Riley and uh Kochetkov is scheduled to start this evening Bussy waiting in the wings but the biggest question right down the stretch is well right down the middle Mark Jankowski has been outstanding offensively so far four goals in seven games including goals in four consecutive contests and he now is getting an opportunity to play a much bigger role but here's the difference scoring goals is one thing replacing Jordan Staal's defensive responsibilities is something entirely different Jankowski doesn't have to become Jordan Staal he just has to help Carolina maintain its identity and tonight will be a good test Washington has historically been difficult offensively against Jankowski but what i'm watching isn't necessarily whether he scores it's how he handles defensive zone face-offs his positioning and the responsibility of playing between Ehlers and Martin without Staal Carolina's goaltenders could face additional pressure moving forward Kochetkov is coming off Sunday's win over Philly while Brandon Bussey remains another option regardless of who starts projected to be Kochetkov Carolina has to be disciplined defensively and to keep this thing rolling over the next month or two we're going to find out just how deep this Hurricanes team really really really is really is now here's where things get interesting the Washington Capitals have already beaten Carolina this season they just don't squeak you know they didn't just squeak out a victory they beat Carolina five to two Washington scored three goals in the first period and Carolina never recovered but since that game the Canes have been on a tear five consecutive victories another looking for number six carolina enters tonight five one and one and the hurricanes have positioned themselves near the top of the Metro Division but here's the bigger question can carolina maintain that level of success without the player Rod Brendamore depends on so and so many defensive situations one area where Staal's absence could really be felt is the penalty kill without him other forwards are going to have to take on more of a defensive responsibility which means winning face-offs clearing pucks and avoiding unnecessary penalties this is going to be tough it's going to be hard for everybody without a doubt the goaltenders well they're going to play an even more important role they're going to need help though. Carolina cannot allow Washington to dictate the pace of this game the way it did in the first meeting. And remember, this isn't just about tonight. The Hurricanes have a road trip coming up. They've got a long stretch of hockey ahead of them. And now they have to prepare for the possibility of playing a significant portion of that schedule without the captain. They're going for six this is big and important tonight you know you're not replacing Jordan Staal with one player you're going to take Jankowski it's going to take Martinuk it's going to take Aho Kochetkov and everybody down the stretch down the middle the Hurricanes need their entire lineup to share the defensive burden and that starts tonight it starts tonight without Staal you cannot afford to make life harder on your penalty kill carolina needs to control possessions limit turnovers and avoid unnecessary penalties this team wins by playing its system and this system becomes even more important when one of your most dependable players is unavailable this is why carolina has spent years building a deep roster because injuries happen and championship caliber teams have to find ways to survive them jankowski has stepped up offensively stan coven has been getting hot Aho has been white hot he's been absolutely outstanding but now the challenge is maintaining that production while replacing Staal's defensive impact and the hurricanes well they're going for their sixth straight win you can't just replace jordan Staal it's almost impossible so tonight is going to be a big big test of their gumption and their drive and can they do it luckily rod has built a system where everybody fills in for each other unlike washington who only has ovechkin carolina has a bunch of role players not just one main superstar who carries everything so we wish the captain luck we wish the captain well we hope the captain comes back very very soon if anything else comes down i'll be the first to let you know for Hurricanes Digest I'm Jeff Testinero let's go Canes