The Carolina Hurricanes cannot afford any injuries at this point in the season, especially not to their starting goalie. Cam Ward has been announced to be out six to eight weeks with an MCL sprain. Currently sitting in third in the Eastern Conference standings, an injury could hurt the team's chances at the playoffs, so losing Ward is going to make the Hurricanes' season an uphill battle. The team announced the injury on Monday.
Ward was injured in the second period during the team's game Sunday against the Florida Panthers. Ward got into a collision with Panthers forward Jack Skille and Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk. The collision sent Faulk flying into Ward and landing in the net. Ward lay on the ice and teammates had to help to the bench.
The result is a third-degree sprain of the medial collateral ligament. Ward is expected to miss at least six to eight weeks with the injury, which would take him to the end of the regular season. The Hurricanes currently lead the Southeast Division with 25 points, four more than Winnipeg in the same amount of games. They must continue to remain competitive or Winnipeg could make a run on them before the playoffs. They have had a surprisingly potent offense in the first season under new head coach Kirk Muller.
Ward is currently 9-6-1 on the season with a 2.84 goals-against average and .908 save percentage this season. Ward was replaced by Dan Ellis, the Hurricanes backup who will now become the prime starter with Ward out. Ellis has appeared in seven games total this season and is 3-2-1. He has a 2.53 GAA and a .923 save percentage. Those are certainly decent numbers for a backup goalie, but he has appeared in a significantly less number of games than Ward. The team will also recall goalie Justin Peters from the Charlotte Checkers to backup Ellis.
