Carolina Hurricanes forward Max Pacioretty was helped off the ice late in the third period in Thursday’s 5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild. Pacioretty left the match with a lower body injury. He recorded 16:38 of ice time.
“It doesn’t look good. I mean, we don’t know, but it doesn’t look good.” – Rod Brind’Amour’s opening comments, post-game, regarding Max Pacioretty’s injury in the final minute.
“Hopefully it’s not as bad as we think, but I’m not too optimistic right now.”
— Walt Ruff (@WaltRuff) January 20, 2023
Pacioretty was recently activated out of injured reserve after missing nearly three months of action while recovering from an Achillies injury for which he underwent surgery in August. He missed both games last weekend against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Vancouver Canucks due to a lower-body injury he sustained against the Columbus Blue Jackets. It looks like Pacioretty has suffered another Achillies-related injury. He grabbed the same leg that was previously injured. Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour told the media that Pacioretty will undergo an MRI on Friday which will determine the results and timing. This season, he has scored three goals in four games.
Pacioretty was acquired in an off-season deal with the Vegas Golden Knights that saw the Hurricanes acquire 34-year-old winger and defenseman Dylan Coghlan in exchange for future consideration. The move was purely a salary cap dump. Last season with the Golden Knights, he had 37 points (19G, 18A) in 39 games, along with 12 power-play points and a plus-8 differential. He’s topped the 30-goal mark six times in his 850-game career so far. Pacioretty is currently in the final year of a four-year, $28 million contract he signed with the Golden Knights in 2018.
