Hurricanes’ Jalen Chatfield leaves game with lower-body injury

The Carolina Hurricanes were dealt a blow to their blue line on Tuesday night as Jalen Chatfield left the team’s game against the Boston Bruins early with a lower-body injury.

During a 6-5 win over the Bruins that saw the Hurricanes lock up the Metropolitan Division title, Chatfield exited during the second period and did not return.

Carolina head coach Rod Brind’Amour did not have an update on Chatfield’s status when he addressed the media following the game.

Chatfield, a right-shot defenseman in the midst of his fifth full season with the Hurricanes, has 17 points on 2 goals and 15 assists in 71 games played this season. The undrafted free agent has skated to a plus-16 rating on a career-high average of 20:11 of time on ice per night.

The Michigan native is in the second year of a three-season pact that carries a salary cap hit of $3 million. The Hurricanes originally landed Chatfield as an unrestricted free agent after he’d spent several years in the Vancouver Canucks organization.

Chatfield, thanks to his mobility and defensive responsibility, has blossomed into a valuable complementary piece for Carolina’s strong defensive unit.

If Chatfield is forced to miss time with this injury, the Hurricanes would likely recall Joel Nystrom or Charles-Alexis Legault to take his spot in the lineup. Both players have experience at the NHL level this season as injury fill-ins.

Carolina has four games remaining in its season, all of which come on the road. The Hurricanes have a four-point lead for the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, meaning they will likely be afforded the opportunity to rest key players ahead of the start of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs later this month.

The Canes will be looking to finally get over the hump in the playoffs this year, as they have been unable to get past the Eastern Conference Final during Brind’Amour’s tenure.