Injuries starting to take toll

The playoffs are a war of attrition anyway, and while the postseason is young — only three teams have been eliminated, with 12 to go — injuries are starting to take their toll.

Sergei Samsonov was the first Carolina player to fall, sidelined for Thursday’s 1-0 loss in Game 5 with a “lower body” injury, which probably means he’s hurt somewhere between his wrist and neck.

Matt Cullen has played the entire series on a balky foot, one that kept him out of the final eight games of the regular season, and had not been at full effectiveness until Thursday, when he was outstanding.

There’s no telling whether he has needed pain-killing injections to play (see: Ty Lawson’s toe) but it wouldn’t be surprising.

Then again, gruesomely long needles and nerve-blocks are as much a part of the playoffs as beards or lying about the injuries requiring numbing in the first place.

And this works both ways. The Devils have been missing their captain, Jamie Langenbrunner, since the third period of Game 2. Defenseman Bryce Salvador was injured when Chad LaRose fell on Salvador’s left knee; he was out Thursday as well.

Patrik Elias, meanwhile, hasn’t been right all series, and when healthy he should be one of the best players on the ice.

That’s all part of it. It’s about survival at this point, and the team with more healthy bodies usually wins. (Just ask the Buffalo Sabres, who were deep into their AHL depth chart on defense in the 2006 conference finals.)

Samsonov’s absence was felt not only on his line, where Jussi Jokinen played with Rod Brind’Amour and Patrick Eaves (who didn’t help matters with two bad penalties), but down the lineup as well.

With Dwight Helminen centering the fourth line instead of Jokinen, one of Carolina’s most effective units — the Canes’ secret weapon, really — was stapled to the bench. Ryan Bayda played four minutes and Scott Walker seven despite combining for a pair of goals in Raleigh.

With two days of rest, the Canes better hope Samsonov is back in the lineup Sunday, because his absence crippled two different lines Thursday.