Hurricanes dealt brutal Brett Pesce injury timeline

The Carolina Hurricanes made one of the most thrilling postseason comebacks in franchise history against the New York Islanders in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series — but it came at the cost of key defenseman Brett Pesce.

Pesce is week-to-week and expected to miss the rest of Round 1 after suffering a non-contact injury on Monday night, the Raleigh News & Observer’s Luke DeCock and Chip Alexander confirmed on Wednesday. The 29-year-old sustained the lower-body injury in the second period of the 5-3 win at PNC Arena.

“A timeframe for Pesce’s lower-body injury remains unclear, the source said, although Pesce could be sidelined for a few weeks at the least,” wrote DeCock and Alexander.

“Pesce suffered the injury on a non-contact play in Monday’s game as he pivoted to turn back up ice.  Pesce is one of the Canes’ most experienced defensemen and has played with Brady Skjei on the second pairing much of the past two seasons. Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour indicated Tuesday that Tony DeAngelo likely would replace Pesce in the lineup if Pesce was unable to play.”

Brind’Amour confirmed the team was “in kind of a wait-and-see mode” but it looks likely that DeAngelo will step into the lineup for Game 3 at UBS Arena on Thursday.

Dmitry Orlov could be in line to replace Pesce on the second pairing, report DeCock and Alexander, which would mean DeAngelo slots in on the third pairing alongside Jalen Chatfield.

DeAngelo chipped in three goals and 11 points over just 31 games this season while averaging 14:20 of time on ice per contest. He played in Carolina’s final three regular-season tilts, but had been scratched for three weeks prior to that.

Wednesday’s practice saw pairings of DeAngelo-Skjei and Orlov-Chatfield, so the controversial D-man could be in line for big minutes in his first taste of playoff action in 2024.

Regardless of how the defensive combinations look, it’s still a brutal blow for one of the better blue lines in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Hurricanes get the win, but lose Brett Pesce