The Hurricanes on Wednesday recalled defenseman Brett Bellemore from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL.

Bellemore, who has good size at 6-4 and 210 pounds, is in his fourth professional season and will be making his NHL debut. He was a sixth-round pick by the Canes in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Bellemore leads the Checkers in plus-minus (plus-12) and penalty minutes (85) in 62 games this season.

In one other personnel move Wednesday, the Canes placed forward Chad LaRose on injured reserve. LaRose has missed the past nine games with a concussion.

The Carolina Hurricanes will be without defenseman Justin Faulk for the next two to four weeks because of a sprained knee, the team said today.

Faulk suffered a second-degree sprain of a medial collateral ligament Tuesday in the game against the Florida Panthers. Faulk made a pass behind the Carolina net and was bumped along the boards by Panthers forward Jack Skille.

The Canes earlier lost goalie Cam Ward to a knee injury, which also was suffered against Florida on March 3 -- and, oddly enough, in a play that involved Faulk and Skille. Ward suffered a third-degree MCL sprain when his left leg was pinned against the post by a sliding Skille and then Faulk tumbled into him.

The Canes already were playing without defenseman Joe Corvo, who will be out another week with a lower-body injury.

RALEIGH -- It was just the kind of game the Carolina Hurricanes couldn't afford to lose.

But did.

The Florida Panthers, rested and ready, took a 4-1 victory over the Hurricanes on Tuesday at PNC Arena.

Tomas Fleischmann, Marcel Goc and Shawn Matthias scored third-period goals -- Goc and Matthias on the power play -- for the Panthers (8-16-6). Jerred Smithson added a late empty-netter.

After saying he favored a goalie rotation between Dan Ellis and Justin Peters, letting each start every other game, Canes coach Kirk Muller is making an exception.

Muller said that Ellis, who started Monday in New York against the Rangers, would be in net again tonight against the Florida Panthers at PNC Arena. Ellis stopped 35 of 36 shots in the Canes' 2-1 shootout loss to the Rangers.

In one other lineup note, Muller said forward Tuomo Ruutu remains "day to day" and would not play tonight.

On going with Ellis, Muller said, "I thought he played really well last night. With our schedule, it's one game at a time but just going on a hunch. He looked like he felt good last night, afterwards. He was confident in net.

"We've got tonight and then the next game (Thursday against New Jersey), then we have a big break. I thought he's got the energy for us to go back with him tonight."

Ruutu skated Tuesday morning but Muller said his return to the lineup will be "when he's ready."

"Hopefully he gives us a good three or four days in a row and we can get him ready to go," Muller said.

Muller said he may stick with the lineup he used Monday in New York, although noting he may make a change after the pregame warmup.

Defenseman Joe Corvo, who has a lower-body injury, likely will be out another week, Muller said.

There are many variables in the NHL that go into winning a division or reaching the playoffs: good goaltending, timely goals, strong penalty kills, and getting a few breaks along the way, to name a few.

While losing goalie Cam Ward to a knee injury was a blow for the Canes and a bad break, what's holding back the Canes is the power play. It's bad and has been bad most of the season. And with the manpower available, it's also baffling.

The Canes are 29th in the NHL at 13 percent, ahead of only Buffalo. They're 16th in power-play opportunities with 100 in 27 games but have scored 13 times. Carolina has three power-play scores in the past 14 games, going 3-44.

Canes coach Kirk Muller believes his players are overthinking on the ice, hesitant, a half-beat slow, forcing passes, and captain Eric Staal agrees.

"That's what happens every time you are where we are in the power-play stats -- you start looking at it, you start pressing and you start thinking too much," Staal said

Tuomo Ruutu laughed a few days ago when someone did a double-take on his name tag above his locker area at PNC Arena, acting as if he wasn't sure who it was.

"Yep, it's me. The new guy in the room," Ruutu said.

It almost seems that way. Ruutu hasn't played a hockey game for the Canes since April 7, 2012, last season, in the finale at Florida. Undergoing hip surgery in December -- to repair a labral tear, he said -- the forward has spent the past three months rehabbing and was medically cleared this week to return to practice.

The Canes have claimed forward Adam Hall on waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning, giving them a banger, a good penalty killer and strong face-off man.

What makes the pickup unusual is that the transaction comes with the Canes in Tampa to play the Lightning tonight. Hall was able to pack up his gear in the home locker room and walk down the hall to the visitors' room, and could be competing against his former teammates tonight.

Hall, 32, has appeared in 20 games for the Lightning this season, registering four assists. Listed at 6-2 and 212 pounds, he ranks first among Lightning skaters in face-off winning percentage (56.4%) and tied for third on the team in penalty minutes (23). He led the Bolts in hits (152) and face-off percentage (55 percent) last year.

Canes forward Tuomo Ruutu may be able to rejoin the lineup sooner than expected.

After Ruutu underwent hip surgery in December, it was believed he might need until the end of April to recover. General manager Jim Rutherford said then that Ruutu likely would miss the regular season but could return for the playoffs.

But Rutherford said this week that March 15 was the date doctors will decide if Ruutu can be cleared to return to practice. And Canes coach Kirk Muller said Sunday that once he's back in practices it may not take long for him to be ready to play.

"Hopefully by next week we get the green light from him," Muller said. "I think it will start off as team practices, then physical contact. He's a guy who has kept himself in pretty good shape. I think once it starts, as far as practices, I don't think he's too far off.

"If he feels good, you could see him being ready to get in the lineup. I don't know how long it will take but I don't think it will take too long."

Ruutu did some early skating Sunday before the Canes' closed practice for the team's full season-ticket holders. Also skating was defenseman Joni Pitkanen, who remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

Chris Terry, playing in his first NHL game, scored his first NHL goal as the Canes took a 6-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils at PNC Arena.

Jiri Tlusty scored twice and had an assist for the Canes (14-9-1). Alex Semin had a goal and two assists, and Eric Staal two assists as the Hurricanes' big line continued to pile up points. Not to be forgotten: Dan Ellis had a big part in the win with 31 saves in net.

Bu everyone was talking about Terry's goal, his moment, after his NHL debut.

"It was a pretty special moment," Terry said. "The first shift was nice. Big crowd and lot of excitement. I got my legs under me and was fortunate enough to find the back of the net.

"It was kind of a blur for me after I scored. I didn't know what to do. But it was definitely an exciting moment."

Dealing with the flu is tough for any hockey player at any position, but especially so for a goalie.

There's all the ups and downs, the side-to-side movement, the squatting and ... well, you get the idea. It's tough. Just ask Dan Ellis.

"With the forwards, you can manage the workload a little bit and miss a few shifts here and there," Ellis said today. "With a goalie that's impossible. You've got to play the 60 minutes and you don't know if it's going to be a high-shot game or low-shot game.

"There's so much that's out of your control and when you're not feeling well, when you don't have energy to make your pushes and stay on your feet. ... When you're a half-second slow in the NHL, that's not good for a goalie."