Hurricanes Notes: Svechnikov, Staal, Carrier, Kotkaniemi, Robidas

The Hurricanes are getting closer to full health at the right time.

Theyve got a trio of forwards on the verge of returning to play, none more important than top-six winger Andrei Svechnikov .

He participated fully in todays practice and is tracking to return to the lineup tomorrow against the Sabres, although head coach Rod BrindAmour wouldnt confirm his availability one way or another (via the teams Walt Ruff) .

Its been an extremely trying recent stretch for Svechnikov.

He sustained an upper-body injury back on March 9 and missed seven games.

His return only lasted three appearances until he sustained another undisclosed injury in a game against the Capitals last week.

Hes missed a pair of games due to that one.

The injury troubles come as Svechnikov is doling out his worst offensive performance since his rookie season.

His 0.68 points per game pace is decently south of the 0.77 career average hes set for himself over his seven seasons in the league.

Hes still one of the more important contributors on a Carolina roster that lacks a point-per-game contributor after trading Martin Necas to the Avalanche earlier this season.

Including Necas, Svechnikov ranks fourth on the Canes with 19-2645 in 66 showings.

His 17:12 average time on ice is up slightly from last years 16:59, although his underlying are a tad concerning.

While hes controlling 58.7% of shot attempts at even strength, thats on an exceptional two-way club in Carolina.

Hes tracking to post a negative relative CF% for the first time in his career.

Nonetheless, theyd love to get Svechnikov back into the fold and hopefully on a hot streak entering postseason play.

Theyve clinched a postseason berth and are essentially locked into second place in the Metropolitan Division with a first-round matchup against an injury-plagued Devils team, but more scoring from him is needed to make a deep run and advance to the Conference Final or further.

Elsewhere in Carolinas forward group, captain Jordan Staal practiced ahead of tomorrows game and, like Svechnikov, remains questionable.

Hes sat out the last four games with a lower-body injury and five of the last eight, so hes clearly nursing something.

The 64 pivot remains a veritable two-way force in his 19th NHL season, posting his best offensive performance in three years while winning 53.9% of his draws, tying for fifth on the team with a +13 rating, and adding 42 blocks and 127 hits.

Theyre also on the verge of getting depth winger William Carrier back in the lineup after a months-long absence.

The 30-year-old was a full participant in todays practice along with Staal and Svechnikov.

He underwent lower-body surgery in late January and was ruled out indefinitely, although he never landed on injured reserve.

He posted 4-59 in 39 games with 136 hits before exiting the lineup, averaging 11:37 per game in his first season in Carolina after signing a six-year, $12MM commitment last summer that could see him finish his career in Raleigh.

As they land some returnees, there might still be a departure from the lineup.

Center Jesperi Kotkaniemi tweaked something in Saturdays loss to the Bruins, BrindAmour said, and hes still being evaluated.

Its likely hell at least miss the Buffalo game after going without a point in his last six appearances.

The 24-year-old has 11-2031 in 76 games, an improvement from last years totals while averaging 14 minutes per game.

It stands to reason Carolina expects at least a net positive in terms of lineup influx for tomorrows contest.

They returned rookie center Justin Robidas to AHL Chicago last night, per Ruff .

The 22-year-old came up under emergency conditions late last week and recorded a point in each of his first two career NHL appearances, including Carolinas lone goal in the loss to Boston.

It was quite the initial showing from the 58 centerman, who the Canes picked up in the fifth round of the 2021 draft.

He has 17-3148 in 65 AHL appearances after spending all of 2023-24 on assignment to ECHL Norfolk.

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