The Carolina Hurricanes held a morning skate at Lenovo Center on Friday morning before their final matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights of the regular season. The Hurricanes won their last meeting on Nov. 11, 5-2. After the morning skate, Frederik Andersen and Rod Brind’Amour spoke to the media.
Frederik Andersen Activated Off IR
The Hurricanes announced during the morning skate that Andersen has been activated off of injured reserve, following knee surgery on Nov. 22. It took eight weeks to get him back on the roster, which was in line with the 8-to-12-week recovery time. Dustin Tokarski was reassigned to the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League after playing six games with Carolina, for a 4-2-0 record, a 2.18 goals-against average (GAA), and a .902 save percentage (SV%).
Related: Ducks Spoil Hurricanes’ Celebration of Eric Staal with a 3-2 Win in Overtime
Andersen will likely be Pyotr Kochetkov’s backup against the Golden Knights for his first game back. He has a 3-1-0 record with a 1.48 GAA and a .941 SV%. “It was a good indication right away that the surgeon liked what was going on,” Andersen said. “I just tried to push it as quick as I could without any real setbacks. I’m really happy with the process, everyone with the team, and the guys in the trainer’s room.”
Andersen helped Denmark make the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy during the qualifying tournament in September and is in the last season of his current two-year deal. This was another unfortunate setback in a growing list of injuries during his time in Carolina.
Rod Brind’Amour On Team’s Recent Play
The Hockey Writers asked Brind’Amour about the Hurricanes’ recent struggles despite sitting in fourth in the Eastern Conference.
“We have high expectations,” Brind-Amour said. “Even the other night, you lose a game, and…you should have probably won the game, or you certainly put yourself in a position. I think that’s the frustration for us – we haven’t strung enough of those games together. Not that we play poorly. It’s just at certain spurts, given up goals…You shouldn’t go in and make kind of some slight mental errors…That’s been killer here in the last couple, I’d say, almost month, month and a half. Not playing poorly, but just having these little things that jump up that have cost us.”
Related: Carolina Hurricanes’ 3 Stars of December
There are some frustrations for Brind’Amour and his team. They are 12-12-3 in the last 27 games following their 14-4-0 start to the season. However, they have a 26-16-3 overall record and are three points back of the second-place New Jersey Devils in the Metropolitan Division with two games in hand.
The injury bug has gotten the better of the team this season, but with Shayne Gostisbehere and Andersen returning, this could be the help the team needs with less than two months before the trade deadline (Mar. 7). Right now, they need to string together some wins for a team that has made the playoffs in six straight seasons.
Showtime in Raleigh
The Hurricanes will look to complete the two-game series sweep of the Golden Knights (29-12-3) on Friday night. It will be on NHL Network with a 7 p.m. Eastern puck drop at the Lenovo Center and on 99.9 The Fan with Mike Maniscalco and Tripp Tracy on the call as always.
