As they prepare for a matchup in New York, the shorthanded Hurricanes have again recalled Derek Ryan.
The Checkers captain heads to Carolina in the midst of one of his hottest stretches of the season. Ryan is currently on a five-game point streak, one shy of the season best he set earlier in the year. His 10 points during that streak are the most in the AHL over that span of days and have helped pushed the 29-year-old into a tie for eighth in the league in scoring.
Heading into their meeting with the Islanders tonight, the Hurricanes find themselves with some holes up front. Already thin at forward, Carolina lost Riley Nash for Sunday’s contest, leading to defenseman Ryan Murphy slotting in at forward in his place. The recall of Ryan allows the Hurricanes to flesh out their forward corps, as he joins fellow Checkers Brody Sutter and Patrick Brown with the NHL club.
The Checkers are fairly banged up themselves, losing several players to injuries on top of the recalls. The good news for Charlotte is that they have a few days at home to regroup before welcoming Texas on Friday to kick off their final six-game home stand of the regular season. The Hurricanes, who have six games remaining on their schedule, follow up tonight’s game with home contests against the Rangers on Thursday and Blue Jackets on Saturday.
In another roster move, the Checkers have released forward Brian Ward from his ATO. Ward appeared in one game for the Checkers, going scoreless and recording two penalty minutes.
