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.

Tuomo Ruutu says he's playing tonight. Zach Boychuk says he was told he probably would be playing tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Coach Paul Maurice wasn't as sure, at least in his remarks after today's morning skate. He said the decisions on Ruutu, forward Ray Whitney and Boychuk, who was called up Thursday from Albany (AHL) , won't be made until just before game time.

Someone else can do the math and the Hurricanes may still be the oldest team in the league, but their average age is dipping.

Brandon Sutter, 20, has been in the lineup five games. Zach Boychuk, who turned 20 on Oct. 4, will be in it Friday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Sutter and Boychuk began the season with the Albany River Rats (AHL) after leading the Hurricanes prospects to the championship in a rookie tournament hosted by the Detroit Red Wings. Sutter was called up Oct. 24. Boychuk got the call Thursday.

What can two 20-year-olds and former first-round picks do for the big team?

"We're just young guys and we'll try to bring energy," Sutter said Thursday.

With the possibility that Ray Whitney and Tuomo Ruutu may miss games with upper-body injuries, the Canes are calling up forward Zach Boychuk from the Albany River Rats (AHL).

General manager Jim Rutherford said Boychuk probably would be on Jussi Jokinen's line with Erik Cole. Sutter may be on a wing today on Rod Brind'Amour"s line with Sergei Samsonov, he said.

Both Whitney and Ruutu will have MRIs and CTs today, Rutherford said. He said it's possible Ruutu could play Friday against Toronto, but Whitney may have to sit out a few games.

Boychuk, the team's first-round draft pick in 2008, has four goals and five assists in 12 games for the Rats. He played two games with the Canes early last season before being sent back to the Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL), his junior team.

The Canes already are playing without center Eric Staal, out two to four weeks with an upper-body injury.