March 16, 2012 11:21 AM
Previously in danger of fielding a depleted lineup against the league’s hottest team, the Checkers will instead be armed with two of their top players.
The Carolina Hurricanes reassigned forward Jerome Samson and defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti to Charlotte on Friday, where they are expected to arrive for that night’s game against the Norfolk Admirals. Samson is the team’s top goal scorer with 18 on the season, while Sanguinetti leads all defensemen and ranks second overall on the team with 35 points.
 Their return comes as welcome news for the Checkers, who faced a few game-time decisions, especially on defense, as they look to halt Norfolk’s 16-game winning streak that is one shy of tying the AHL’s all-time record. Most notable among those is defenseman Rasmus Rissanen, who could likely play if needed although perhaps not at 100 percent. Fellow blueliner Mathieu Roy missed a few practices earlier in the week but has since returned, while center Riley Nash has not played since Feb. 10 but was expecting to do so against Norfolk.
Samson returns to Charlotte with an active three-game point streak, having notched three goals and one assist through his last Checkers appearance on Feb. 11. Though he has a respectable five points (2g, 3a) in 16 total NHL games this season, his emergency recall status dictated that he had to either return to Charlotte or go on waivers now that Jiri Tlusty is ready to return to a Carolina lineup that is now completely healthy up front.
Sanguinetti completes his first stint with the Hurricanes and the second NHL recall of his career having played in each of the Canes’ last two games. After being used sparingly in his season debut against the New York Rangers on Tuesday, Sanguinetti hit a post and make a key play to help set up the Hurricanes’ first goal during the third period of their 2-0 win over St. Louis on Thursday. The return of Jaroslav Spacek gives Carolina enough healthy defenseman to take on their upcoming two-game trip through Minnesota and Winnipeg.
The day’s transactions give Charlotte the strongest lineup it’s had in quite some time in terms of recalls, with forward Drayson Bowman the only member of the Checkers’ Clear Day roster still in the NHL. They do still have to deal with a few injuries, including those to Rissanen, who is now unlikely to play on Friday, fellow blueliner Justin Krueger and forward Justin Soryal. |
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