South Raleigh News

The Carolina Hurricanes will be without defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere due to an upper-body injury, as announced by head coach Rod Brind'Amour on Monday. Gostisbehere was absent from the final minutes of Friday's game against New Jersey and did not participate in Saturday's match in Raleigh.

"I'm not sure of the length of (the injury), but it'll be more than day-to-day. That's all I can tell you right now," Brind'Amour stated after Monday's practice at Lenovo Center, where Gostisbehere was also absent.

In light of Gostisbehere's absence, Ty Smith has been given an opportunity to step up. Smith skated alongside Sean Walker, Gostisbehere's usual defensive partner, during Saturday's game and took on the role of quarterbacking the first power play unit.

"He's an offensive defenseman and he's a similar kind of player to Ghost. Ghost is obviously a big part of (the power play), but I think we'll give Smitty the first crack and see if he can do really what he's done his whole life," Brind'Amour explained.

Smith played 16:23 in his debut with the team and received positive feedback from both Brind'Amour and Walker following their victory. "I love Smitty. We've practiced together a bunch when he's been around. He's great. He stepped in and it was pretty seamless," Walker said.

Smith, 24, has been alternating between Chicago and Raleigh throughout the season but has scored 10 points in 13 games while playing for the Wolves. "We've kind of had him bouncing around and he's had a great attitude," Brind'Amour added. "I think that's part of it, guys really root for him because he's been a real positive around here."

A former first-round pick by the New Jersey Devils in 2018, Smith has shown his ability to lead a power play before, notably scoring six power-play goals in 39 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins during the 2022-23 season. His appearance on Saturday marked his 124th NHL game after two full seasons with the Devils from 2020 to 2022.