Ruutu's injury update

Late in regulation of the game between the Hurricanes and Devils, Hurricanes newcomer Tuomo Ruutu was clipped by Hepatitis Boy's stick. He was bleeding quite a bit, but he left on his own power, and I assumed that it was just a normal little cut. I even said in an IM chat that he would "take a few butterfly stitches and be okay."

Not quite.

He needed 40 stitches to close the cut that went from the brow above his left eye to his nose. Today, there was significant enough swelling to prevent Ruutu from practicing, and he may have to miss Thursday's game against the Rangers. LSB has more details.

If Ruutu can't go on Thursday, Trevor Letowski will have an increased role. Jeff Hamilton has been assigned to Albany and won't be put through re-entry waivers. He'll stay there, and the Hurricanes won't be calling anyone else up.

There isn't any word on Tim Gleason yet. He took a baseline test this morning and sat out of practice with a "headache". That's got concussion written all over it. That's not god news for Canes fans. Gleason has been one of, if not THE best defenseman for the Canes over the past few months. Just as no forwards will be called up, neither will a defenseman. The Hurricanes will stand pat with what they have and hope for the best.

With a five point lead and sixteen games to play, Carolina can hope that even with this ever-growing list of injuries, they can limp to the finish line ahead of Washington and Atlanta.