As if Game 4 wasn’t high stakes enough for the Carolina Hurricanes, they’ll need to do it without their top shutdown defenseman.
Jaccob Slavin was ruled out for the rest of Game 4 of their Eastern Conference Final series against the Florida Panthers due to an upper-body injury.
The incident occurred just a couple of minutes into the game with the Hurricanes already down 1-0. Panthers forward Sam Bennett went for a hit on Slavin behind the net, and while it was shoulder-on-shoulder, the impact of the collision caused Slavin’s head to hit Bennett’s helmet, which likely caused the upper-body injury. Slavin attempted to get up after the play, but fell down immediately and stayed on the ice until he got assistance.
Due to the contact being incidental, Bennett did not receive a penalty for the play. In fact, the Panthers actually got a power play after Canes forward Jordan Martinook cross-checked Bennett during the play.
Slavin has been the most important piece on their blueline, playing the vital role of a shutdown defenseman against the opposing team’s top players all playoffs. On top of that, he also has two goals and four assists for six points in 14 playoff games and had seven goals, 20 assists, and 27 points in 76 games in the regular season.
The Canes have yet to announce how long of a recovery period is expected for Slavin. However, depending on the result of Game 4, it may not matter with the Canes facing elimination down 3-0 in their series against the Panthers. If the Canes exit the playoffs tonight, Slavin will likely be healthy by the time they play again next season.
Slavin was a fourth-round pick of the Hurricanes back in 2012, and he has spent the entirety of his eight-year NHL career with the Canes. He has one more year left on his contract with a $5.3 million cap hit after this season and will be an unrestricted free agent as a 30-year-old.
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