Carolina Hurricanes: Andrei Svechnikov to go through Concussion Protocol (UPDATED)

While the Carolina Hurricanes bested the Washington Capitals 5-0 on the scoreboard, Andrei Svechnikov lost a more physical battle with Alex Ovechkin that sent him down the hall to concussion protocol.

In last night’s dominant win over the Washington Capitals, the Carolina Hurricanes lost not one, but two forwards to injuries. After Micheal Ferland left the game early after a hit on a Capitals player re-aggravated his shoulder, Andrei Svechnikov took on the Capitals captain in a heavyweight bout that ended with him out cold on the ice.

This will not be an article about who started the fight. This will not be an article speaking to the volumes of Alex Ovechkin‘s character, a man who would harass and then fight a teenager 14 years his junior, whom seems to threaten his position as best Russian NHL player in the game today.

Instead of talking about how a 33 year old man should not be slashing at and egging on a teenager into asking for a fight and then immediately tossing the gloves at the first chance he gets to remove the risk to his legacy from the game by throwing his head into the ice, we will talk about what this mean for the Carolina Hurricanes moving forward in this series.

Earlier we received the first words on Svechnikov’s health. For now it seems that everything seems to be okay with the young tough teenage forward who took a visit to the hospital while his teammates went on to win the game for him:

While this is not good news in the short term, Svechnikov will not be dressing for Thursday’s game four back at PNC Arena, it may be some good news for the future. Thanks to the win last night, the series is guaranteed to go to game five back in Washington. That is the earliest I expect him to show back up with a few lessons learned and perhaps something to prove.

For the Carolina Hurricanes that means making some decisions. Do they call up another forward from Charlotte. Do they hold what they have and hope Ferland is ready for Thursday. What they will not do is rush his return back to the ice for Thursday.

"“We’re going to be real careful. We’re always careful. We’re certainly not going to rush him back.”–Head Coach Rod Brind’Amour"

Ferland’s Injury seems to be very benign, and he would simply move up into the second line with Jordan Staal and Justin Williams if he is good to go on Thursday. Saku Maenalanen would fill in the final forward spot on the roster. If Ferland is not ready, it would also be possible to draw in Jake bean and play with seven defenders as well.

I do not expect them to call up Martin Necas at any time during the playoffs, who, while being an excellent player in Charlotte, will be burning off a year on his contract and possibly exposing himself to the expansion draft by playing a playoff game. Instead The Carolina Hurricanes Have called up the Checker’s Captain Patrick Brown.

If Brown draws into the lineup, it will be his 29th NHL game. He has a single goal and assist in the 28 games played so far in the majors. He does however have 19 goals and 16 assists for the checkers this year. His playoff experience with the checkers has seen him net two goals and two assists in 13 games played over the last two seaons.

Tuesday is an off day for the Carolina Hurricanes, so That will be the extra rest for Ferland. Good news is that even down two forwards, the Carolina Hurricanes have been more than a match for the Stanley Cup Champions. Regardless of the decision made, they will be prepared to try and even up the series.

While we wait for the return of the team to the ice in a huge game to put the series back within grasp, we can only hope for good health to both Svechnikov and Ferland. This is a very physical game and the gladiators on the ice fight long and hard. Lets give them our support and good wishes.