Mulling the options

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.

“It depends on how we restructure the lines,” Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice said. “It’s not just the next guy in. We consider where Jokinen would go. Would he stay at center or go to the wing? That will affect who comes in. But we’ve got nine extra guys here, so we’re not going to be short of bodies.”

Here are Maurice’s options, if Cole OR Ruutu is out:

1. Conboy would be the default position after getting the call the last time a change was needed, but this series is moving at a faster pace than the Boston series, which means Conboy’s skating would be more of a detriment.

2. Dwight Helminen. In Game 5 of the New Jersey series, Helminen replaced Sergei Samsonov (“lower body” injury) and played sparingly. He’s a center, so he’d be the logical pick if Jokinen moves to the wing — likely, given how well the Samsonov-Rod Brind’Amour-Jokinen combination looked. Michael Ryan would be an option here as well, but Helminen appears ahead of Ryan on the depth chart.

3. Anton Babchuk. Maurice could dress seven defensemen, use Babchuk on the power play and double-shift Eric Staal or Matt Cullen with Bayda and Patrick Eaves.

4. Pat Dwyer. If Jokinen stays at center, Dwyer could fill in on the wing on the fourth line, with Eaves or Bayda moving up. He brings some speed and grit to the table, which could be useful against the Penguins.

5. A wild card. Maybe Brandon Sutter comes in to center the fourth line, giving the Canes another penalty-killer. Maybe Zach Boychuk or Drayson Bowman get the call, straight out of junior hockey. (The Canes apparently are NOT considering either as an option at this point, but I wouldn’t rule it out.) Maybe Bryan Rodney comes in as the seventh defenseman. In a situation like this, it’s worth exploring every possibility.

If Cole AND Ruutu are out, you’d have to figure Helminen is in to center the fourth line and either Dwyer, Conboy or Babchuk as well. The real gutsy play here would be to use Boychuk in a top-nine role, but again, the Canes don’t seem to be considering that.