The Carolina Hurricanes will be without goaltender Cam Ward for the next six to eight weeks due to a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee that he suffered during a 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers Sunday night. The team has announced that Ward will not need surgery.
He was hurt inadvertently in the second period by teammate Justin Faulk, who slid into him in an effort to block Florida's Jack Skille from skating toward the net. Ward is expected to be out until mid-to-late April, according to ESPN.com-the regular season ends April 27th.
In 17 games this season, Ward had a .908 save percentage and gave up 2.84 goals per game. His 433 total saves rank 12th in the NHL and sixth in the Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes are currently third in the East, with a record of 12-8-1 with 25 points. Dan Ellis will take over as Carolina's primary goalie and Justin Peters was summoned from the AHL to serve as Ellis' backup.
Ellis was slated to start Sunday's game, but didn't because of an illness. Once Ward injured his knee, Ellis finished out the day for him. After the game, Ellis said he felt partially responsible for Ward getting hurt. "In the end, (being sick) ended up costing us our goalie, so it kind of (stinks)." Ellis has 168 saves in seven games for the Hurricanes, a .923 save percentage, and 2.53 goals against average. This season is Ellis' first in Carolina. Previously, he played one game for the Dallas Stars before spending three full seasons with the Nashville Predators and part of a fourth before moving on to the Tampa Bay Lightning. After Tampa, he played with the Anaheim Ducks for two seasons before joining Carolina this year.
General manager Jim Rutherford said "Obviously we can't replace a player like Cam Ward. Everyone has to elevate their game.
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