Playoff Notebook: Welcome To May

RALEIGH, NC. -By the end of the day Monday the Carolina Hurricanes will know who they'll be facing in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

While the wait-and-see approach applies to the scheduling portion of things, it did not apply to the on-ice side of things, with the group taking to the ice to further hone their craft.

Drury Ready To Roll For Round 2

When asked on Sunday morning, Rod Brind'Amour said that forward Jack Drury (upper-body injury) would be good to go for Game 1 of the second round.

That looked even more of a reality to start the new week as Drury skated in a regular practice sweater, a step forward from the no-contact jersey he'd recently been skating in.

Working his way back from an upper-body injury suffered on Sunday, April 23 in Game 4 against the New York Islanders, the 23-year-old looked eager to get back into the swing of things after missing the final two games of the first-round series.

Drury being an option for Game 1 would present a situation up front though, with one forward from Friday's Game 6 victory being forced out of the lineup. Toward the end of the regular season and at the start of the series, Derek Stepan, Jesse Puljujarvi, and Paul Stastny were each the odd man out at times.

The state of affairs will be something to monitor over the next 48 hours.

Skjei Gets An Extra Day Off, Chatfield Leaves Skate Early

The only absent skater at the start of Monday's skate was defenseman Brady Skjei, who is "dealing with a little something" per Brind'Amour.

While it sounds like something that would not impact his status for Wednesday's Game 1, the blue line took another bump when Jalen Chatfield left the ice just minutes into the group's effort. The defenseman had a conversation with a member of the team's athletic training staff before going back into the locker room and did not return.

"Yeah, he did tweak something there," Brind'Amour said of the right-handed defenseman at his media availability. "It shouldn't be an issue. Once (something like that happens), we say just to stay off."

Down two defensemen, today was the perfect day for Max Lajoie to join the group, skating with the Canes for the first time since mid-December.

Recalled to be a "Black Ace" after the conclusion of the Chicago Wolves' season, Lajoie, not unlike Mackenzie MacEachern, had a monster second half with Carolina's AHL affiliate.

Producing 31 points in 28 games from January 28-April 16, the AHL All-Star has shown in both of the last two seasons that he's capable of jumping into the lineup when needed. Although he was only needed for a trio of contests by the Metropolitan Division Champions this campaign, Carolina allowed a grand total of zero goals in those three contests, shutting out the Blackhawks, Islanders, and Red Wings.

Round 2 Schedule To Be Released Tonight

Following the conclusion of Game 7 between the Colorado Avalanche and Seattle Kraken last night, the NHL announced information on Games 1 & 2 for the Carolina Hurricanes' second-round series.

With the first two bouts of the battle set to take place Wednesday and Friday at PNC Arena, no additional information was released beyond that.

That will change this evening though, as a full schedule of dates, start times, and broadcast information is expected to be available moments after one of either the Devils or Rangers advance this evening.

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