Staal Readies for Return from Concussion

Jordan Staal skated with the Carolina Hurricanes in practice on Monday and even took some contact.
That's the latest and most positive step in his recovery from a concussion, and the Hurricanes' big man in the middle could return to the lineup as early as Tuesday against Vancouver.
"If he's cleared, he's going to play," head coach Bill Peters said after Monday's practice. "I think the biggest thing is to see how he reacts to today. I thought he was very good today, but we'll just see how he reacts and feels tomorrow morning."

Staal has missed the team's last seven games after leaving the match against Florida on Nov. 27 in the first period. It was an innocent enough looking play. Staal pushed down defenseman Jason Demers to separate him from the puck, and as Demers fell to the ice, his stick came down and contacted Staal on the head. It dazed Staal, who stumbled initially and left the ice to be tested for a concussion.
"It wasn't crazy hard, but it definitely knocked my head into a little different spot," Staal said.
The 28-year-old was diagnosed with his first concussion and put into the protocol from there.
"Fortunately this is my first and hopefully last," Staal said, knocking on the wood of his locker stall at Raleigh Center Ice. "I learned a lot understanding a different injury that's very difficult to read."
Unlike a broken bone or a sprain, a concussion doesn't have a definite recovery timetable. It's different for every player, in the sense of symptoms experienced, the severity of those symptoms and the duration of those symptoms.
"Most of it was dizzy fogginess. I had a tough time finding my ground. I just wasn't feeling right at all," Staal said. "It took a few days to reset, and then it was just a slow process from there where I started to feel better every day, and here I am."

Staal's recovery over the last two weeks has been a process, one he discussed with his brothers who have experienced concussions, as well.
"It's been difficult. Any player has told the same story of how difficult it is. I'm no different. I want to be out there, and I want to be 100 percent. I feel like I've taken some good time that I've needed for the melon to feel a little better," Staal said. "I learned a lot from my brothers. They all had some good insight, and they said to take your time."
While the Hurricanes were in California last week, Staal remained in Raleigh, spending time off and on the ice, trying to work his way back to a full bill of health.
"It was good to get out there with the guys, get a sweat on and a good skate in," he said after practicing with the team on Monday. "I feel good. We'll see how it goes. It's always good to get out on the ice, and that's always a positive thing."
"If we can get him back, we'll definitely put him in our lineup," Peters said. "It'd be a big addition to our team."
Elsewhere on the injury front, Elias Lindholm, who is nursing a lower-body injury, is closing in on a return to the lineup, as well. Lindholm traveled with the Hurricanes out west but hasn't played since the first of the month.
"Close," Peters said of Lindholm. "I think he's real close. If they're both [cleared], they'll both be in."
After playing nine of 11 games on the road, the Hurricanes will close out the 2016 calendar year with six of their next nine games at home, where they've won six straight. The Hurricanes will look to make it seven in a row at PNC Arena when they host the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, the start of a four-game homestand.