Carolina Hurricanes Top Four Defenceman Injured

Brett Pesce Injured

In a game two thriller between the Hurricanes and Islanders, Carolina defenceman Brett Pesce was unable to participate in the late-game excitement as he left part of the way through the game. Post-game Rod Brind’Amour provided that it didn’t look good but they would wait and see after Pesce got some evaluation.

While the Hurricanes are pretty deep on defence, Pesce has been a consistent defensive defenceman on the team’s second pairing and penalty kill. Over the last few seasons, he has built strong chemistry with defensive partner Brady Skjei. He actually had a down season this year offensively with three goals and ten assists in 70 games played. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that he contributes heavily to the team’s successful shutdown defence.

Moving Forward

With Pesce on the sidelines, the Hurricanes will likely see Tony DeAngelo return to the lineup. For as good as Pesce is defensively and lacking as he has been this season offensively, DeAngelo is the complete opposite. He can provide offence from the backend as well as almost anyone in the league, but his defensive game is definitely lacking. Since the early Dmitry Orlov and Tony DeAngelo experiment didn’t work well, and Orlov has been so good with Jalen Chatfield, expect t DeAngelo to slot in beside Skjei. But this is a question for Brind’Amour.

What we do know is that losing Pesce will be a tough blow for Carolina. But overcoming injuries and depth players stepping up is usually key for any playoff team looking to go far.