It appears that the Carolina Hurricanes organization can now exhale.
Recent Checkers News
The official word from the Checkers on Saturday morning was that top defenseman Justin Faulk, who left Friday’s game in Milwaukee with an injury and did not return, is day-to-day with a muscle strain. Although that puts his participation for this weekend’s remaining games in Rockford in some doubt, the injury does not appear to be any more serious than that.
Given Faulk’s status as a well-established NHL player despite being just 20 year old, it wouldn’t be surprising to see both Faulk and the Checkers exercise some caution moving forward. That’s especially true this weekend, with the set of three games in three nights taxing for even the healthiest skaters.
Despite missing most of Friday’s game, Faulk is tied with Bobby Sanguinetti for second on the Checkers in scoring with three points, all assists picked up in the season’s opening game at Houston last week.
The Checkers brought seven defensemen with them for the trip and will be covered should Faulk miss one or both games. Brett Bellemore and Justin Krueger have rotated as a healthy extra thus far, with Krueger sitting out Friday.