Hurricanes: Sekera Latest Defenseman Lost to Injury; Komisarek In

After several games of having eight healthy defenseman and a difficult choice to make on whom to dress, the Carolina Hurricanes suddenly find that depth gone. Andrej Sekera didn’t participate in Friday’s morning skate, and Kirk Muller ruled him out with an “upper-body” injury.

Sekera has upper body injury. To have MRI. Semin did some skating today Muller said.

— Chip Alexander (@ice_chip) November 29, 2013

Muller called him day-to-day, and said that he’d know more after the MRI. With the quick turnaround — they play again Sunday afternoon — it seems doubtful that Sekera will be ready before the ‘Canes take to the road.

Like with Gleason, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when Sekera got hurt. He played well into the third period of Wednesday’s win, but took no noticeable hit that would have sidelined him.

In his place, Mike Komisarek will dress and be paired with Brett Bellemore. Ron Hainsey will slide up to the top pairing with Justin Faulk, and the Jay Harrison-Ryan Murphy duo will remain intact.

Though he was signed for added depth, it seemed as though Komisarek would play more often than he has. But the emergence of Bellemore has complicated things, and Komisarek will play for only the 7th time this year. Muller has praised his professionalism and patience.

“I’ve said it before, we have confidence in Mike. It’s just a numbers game,” Muller said. “He’s worked so hard every day. He’s been such a great pro. I think a lot of guys are pulling for him to have a great game tonight.”