Staff photo by Chris Seward

PITTSBURGH — He was the last player on the Mellon Arena ice this morning for the Carolina Hurricanes, and he could provide just the lift the Canes need for Game 2 against the Penguins.

Erik Cole was at the morning skate, showing little effects of the knee-on-knee hit he took in Game 1. The forward later told the coaches he felt fine, and Cole will be in the lineup tonight for Game 2.

"He's been a big player for us," forward Jussi Jokinen said. "He may not have scored that much but all the things he brings to the game is huge."

Staff photo by Chris Seward

PITTSBURGH — Erik Cole joined his teammates on the Mellon Arena ice for the Carolina Hurricanes' morning skate today, suggesting the injured forward may be healthy enough to play in tonight's Game 2 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

But fellow Carolina forward Tuomo Ruutu, who also was listed by the team as "day-to-day" after his Game 1 was cut short by a lower-body injury, did not skate with the team this morning.

UPDATE, 12:31 p.m.: Cole and Dwyer will be in the lineup tonight, the N&O has learned. Ruutu is out but could return Saturday. Check back for more updates.

From Talking Points: 

Really, should anyone be surprised the Hurricanes lost not one but two players in Game 1 of this series? It’s rare when they leave the ice at Mellon Arena with everyone intact.

At least three Hurricanes players have left the ice on a stretcher in Pittsburgh since the team moved to North Carolina in 1997, and that doesn’t include Erik Cole, who skated off the ice with a broken neck.

So losing Cole to a knee-to-knee hit by Matt Cooke and Tuomo Ruutu after he was tripped by Mark Eaton on Monday may have been unfortunate but hardly unexpected.

Read more here. 

Really, should anyone be surprised the Hurricanes lost not one but two players in Game 1 of this series? It’s rare when they leave the ice at Mellon Arena with everyone intact.

At least three Hurricanes players have left the ice on a stretcher in Pittsburgh since the team moved to North Carolina in 1997, and that doesn’t include Erik Cole, who skated off the ice with a broken neck.

So losing Cole to a knee-to-knee hit by Matt Cooke and Tuomo Ruutu after he was tripped by Mark Eaton on Monday may have been unfortunate but hardly unexpected.

PITTSBURGH — Officially, the status of forwards Erik Cole and Tuomo Ruutu for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals is "day to day" and a "game-time decision."

That's what Canes coach Paul Maurice said today after the team practice at Mellon Arena.

But the word from the Hurricanes camp is that Ruutu will not play against the Penguins on Thursday night and there's a chance Cole could. Ruutu suffered an injured right ankle and Cole still feeling the effects from his knee-to-knee hit from the Penguins Matt Cooke in Game 1.

"We'll make an assessment tomorrow morning," Maurice said. "They may skate and they may not. We'll let our trainer (Pete Friesen) make that decision for them and then they'll both be game-time decisions.

"It could have been worse, I guess. We move forward positively."

From Talking Points: 

So if Erik Cole and/or Tuomo Ruutu can’t play Thursday — and the bet here is that Ruutu is in and Cole is out — where does that leave the Hurricanes? Or, more to the point, who goes into the lineup?

The Hurricanes may not need Tim Conboy’s toughness as much in this series, so it’s more of a question than it was when Conboy replaced the flu-stricken Ryan Bayda against Boston.

Read more here. 

So if Erik Cole and/or Tuomo Ruutu can’t play Thursday — and the bet here is that Ruutu is in and Cole is out — where does that leave the Hurricanes? Or, more to the point, who goes into the lineup?

The Hurricanes may not need Tim Conboy’s toughness as much in this series, so it’s more of a question than it was when Conboy replaced the flu-stricken Ryan Bayda against Boston.

PITTSBURGH — With Canes coach Paul Maurice, sometimes it's not so much what he says as how he says it.

After the Canes' 3-2 loss to the Penguins in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, Maurice was asked about the injuries to Tuomo Ruutu and Erik Cole.

"On those two guys, I'll know tomorrow," he said. "I don't know much right now. We'll see how they wake up and how they feel."

On the surface, that sounds like Ruutu and Cole could be OK. And they may be. But there didn't seem to be much optimism in the tone of Maurice's voice.

The Hurricanes lost Erik Cole midway through the third period after Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke caught him knee-on-knee in front of the Pittsburgh net. Cole played only one shift after that, and an angry Paul Maurice wasn't happy about the hit afterward.

When the Canes picked up Erik Cole in a Wednesday trade with Edmonton, they were hoping for an offensive bump and better production from the top line of Cole, Eric Staal and Tuomo Ruutu.

But this much better? After helping spark a 6-1 win Friday over Calgary in Cole's return game, the line accounted for six goals and nine assists Saturday in the 9-3 spanking of Tampa Bay as Staal had a career-best four goals and six points.

"They have looked good together," Canes coach Paul Maurice said today. "I thought they looked good against Calgary, but that was it — good. They did play against Calgary's top line, but I didn't see anything to really get excited about.

"It was a lot better against Tampa ..."