CHICAGO (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes rested several key players Thursday night — and still cruised to an important win.
Defenseman Jalen Chatfield was scratched for Carolina's 7-2 victory at Chicago because of an unspecified injury. Defenseman Jaccob Slavin and forwards Jordan Staal, Jordan Martinook, Seth Jarvis, Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov also got the night off.
“It speaks to our depth, the style that we play,” said Mark Jankowski, who
had two goals in the win. “I think, just the way that we play, we can play with anyone no matter who's in and out of the lineup. Everyone stepped up and did a great job.”
Chatfield took just two shifts in the third period of Tuesday night's 6-5 overtime victory over Boston. He has two goals and a career-high 15 assists in 71 games this season.
“You're always concerned when guys are missing,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “I hope it's not anything that's going to drag on.”
The Hurricanes (51-22-6) clinched the Metropolitan Division title with their win against the Bruins. They also lead the Eastern Conference by two points over Buffalo, which posted a 5-0 victory over Columbus on Thursday night.
Jarvis tops Carolina with 32 goals, and Aho has a team-high 53 assists and 79 points. Svechnikov has 30 goals and 39 assists.
“Everyone's dealing with something, unfortunately,” Brind’Amour said. “I mean they could have played, I think, but we're at a point where (a) guy's not close to 100 (percent), there's really no reason to throw him in.”
Defenseman Charles Alexis Legault and forwards Skyler Brind’Amour, Bradly Nadeau and Josiah Slavin skated in the win one day after they were recalled from Carolina's American Hockey League affiliate.
Skyler Brind’Amour is the coach's son, and Slavin is the younger brother of Jaccob Slavin. Skyler Brind’Amour scored a goal in two games with the Hurricanes last April, and Josiah Slavin had an assist in 15 games with the Blackhawks during the 2021-22 season in his only previous NHL action.
“The system's pretty straight up, right? So anyone can squeeze right in,” said William Carrier, who had three assists in the victory. “And they play the same way down there, so they fit right in. It's like they played all season with us.”
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