The Checkers won’t have to play without Chris Terry after all.
The Carolina Hurricanes reassigned the forward to Charlotte on Wednesday morning after he played one NHL game in Columbus the night before. Terry, who is tied with Zach Boychuk for the Checkers’ scoring lead with 56 points in 56 games, should be available for Wednesday’s road game against the Norfolk Admirals.
The Checkers are 0-6-0 this season without Terry, who has goals in each of his last three games and 28 points in his last 23 games dating back to Jan. 23. Along with Boychuk and Aaron Palushaj, he is one of three Charlotte forwards who are on pace to break the team’s single-season record of 65 points. All three skaters rank in the league’s top 11 in scoring.
Terry, who did not miss an AHL game during his one-day recall, logged 13:47 of ice time in the 3-1 win over the Blue Jackets, including 4:47 on the power play. He has one point in 11 career NHL games, the game-winning goal in his debut last season.
Terry’s return gives the Checkers the full allotment of 12 forwards as they continue their playoff push in Norfolk. With Greg Nemisz and Brendan Woods still injured, the team would have had to summon a replacement from the ECHL level had Terry not been able to return.
Though coming off a loss in their last game on Sunday, the Checkers have won seven of nine and enter tonight’s game ranked 10th in the Western Conference. They have a single game in hand on both eighth-place Rockford, who they trail by four points, and ninth-place Oklahoma City, who they trail by one point.
