So what's the Canes' next move? Cam Ward will be out at least three to four weeks, general manager Jim Rutherford says, so a goaltending decision must be made.

The best guess here is that the Hurricanes will sign a goaltender and that it will be Manny Legace. He's 36, he's experienced, he's won 177 NHL games.

Legace had a preseason tryout with the Atlanta Thrashers and has been playing for the Chicago Wolves (AHL). He would be able to hop in and team with Michael Leighton.

Rutherford has not said what direction the Canes will take, but it seems like signing Legace would be the best option if the Canes can make it work financially.

Canes general manager Jim Rutherford said today that goaltender Cam Ward would remain at a Columbus, Ohio, hospital another day and that the team may look to trade or sign another goaltender.

Ward suffered a laceration of the left leg in the first period of the Canes' 3-2 loss at Columbus on Saturday and was taken to Riverside Hospital.

"We'll have to see how it goes," Rutherford said today of Ward's injury and recovery time. "It appears it will be a fairly long period of time."

UPDATE: Rutherford said Sunday afternoon that Ward could be out a month but that the injury is not considered season-ending.

Zach Boychuk is headed back to Albany. The winger played in the last two games for the Hurricanes after an injury to Ray Whitney.

Boychuk, 20, notched his first NHL point with an assist on Tim Gleason's goal in the Canes' 3-2 loss Saturday at Columbus. 

Boychuk, the team's first-round draft pick in 2008, averaged 14:35 of ice time in games against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Blue Jackets.  He has four goals and five assists in 12 games for the River Rats (AHL) this season.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It's not good.

You could sense it by the somber looks on the faces, the tone of voice, the frowns around the
Canes' locker room after Saturday's game. Cam Ward's leg injury against the Columbus Blue Jackets was serious -- certainly serious enough to shift a nightmarish season into the surreal.

Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward, who was taken to a hospital Saturday after being injured during the game with the Columbus Blue Jackets, received stitches and is expected to return to Raleigh on Sunday.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Carolina Hurricanes went into the game with an 11-game winless streak and without forwards Eric Staal and Ray Whitney.

And after the first 7 1-2 minutes Saturday, they were playing without goaltender Cam Ward, who suffered that coach Paul Maurice called a "significant injury" to his left leg.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Maybe Ken Hitchcock was being nice. Or coy. Or, perhaps, truthful.

The Columbus Blue Jackets coach said today he had watched tape of some of the Canes' recent games and has been surprised by what he saw.

"I can't figure it out," he said after the Jackets' morning skate at Nationwide Arena. "I just don't see the poor play that usually comes with losing."

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Lost in all the gloom and dejection of the Canes' 3-2 loss Friday to the Maple Leafs was that Zach Boychuk made his NHL debut this season and played well.

Let's just say the winger, called up Friday from Albany (AHL), played well enough to make coach Paul Maurice more than comfortable with what he saw on the ice.

"What you're hoping for, on a team struggling for offense, you're hoping fo offense," Maurice said today. "At the same time, you want to be abe to play the young player, so you want that confidence and comfort level as a coach."

RALEIGH -- Good or bad teams, Eastern or Western Conference,
American or Canadian, the Carolina Hurricanes do not discriminate when
it comes to losing.

The Canes dropped their 11th straight on Friday night, a 3-2
disappointment to the equally generous Toronto Maple Leafs, who are
riding high in 29th place in the NHL standings compared to the basement
the Canes inhabit.

The Hurricanes, winless in their last 10 games, are 30th in the NHL standings and the Toronto Maple Leafs 29th. So what kind of game will it be tonight at the RBC Center?

"9-8 tonight -- that's the prediction," Canes coach Paul Maurice said today after the morning skate.