The Carolina Hurricanes spent Wednesday morning in game-like drills, hitting and competing while they waited for the Philadelphia Flyers to decide who they would play next. Alexander Nikishin was back on the ice at the same time, wearing a yellow no-contact jersey as he works back from a concussion.
Coach Rod Brind'Amour said the team had to strike a balance in practice, calling it a guessing game between backing off and letting the edge disappear. So he pushed his players into battle drills and other playoff-style work, and Seth Jarvis said it was exactly the kind of session they needed. “It’s nice to go out there and compete,” Jarvis said. “We had a lot of battle drills, so it was good to kind of get that aspect.”
The timing matters because Carolina’s second-round opponent is still not set. The Flyers entered Wednesday with a 3-2 lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins and were scheduled to try to finish the series at home Wednesday night. If Pittsburgh forces a seventh game, the start of the Hurricanes’ next round would likely be pushed back.
Brind'Amour said Tuesday he was hopeful Nikishin would be ready for Carolina’s second-round game, and his return to the ice Wednesday was another step in that direction. Nikishin took a concussion on Saturday after a hit in Game 4 against Ottawa, then skated alongside Shayne Gostisbehere during the drills. Brind'Amour said he thinks the defenseman is feeling good and that everything is moving the right way toward testing him for a return.
That recovery still has its uncertainty. Taylor Hall said concussions do not come back on a straight line, noting that there are good days and bad days and that a player can feel different as the workload increases. If Nikishin cannot play, the Hurricanes have Mike Reilly ready, with Charles Alexis LeGault recalled from the Chicago Wolves earlier this week as depth. Reilly is Carolina’s seventh defenseman at full health, and the club was not scheduled to practice again Thursday morning.