Taylor Hall exits Hurricanes' 4-2 win with upper-body injury
Carolina's Taylor Hall left Tuesday's 4-2 win over Washington with an upper-body injury, and coach Rod Brind'Amour said it did not look good.
Why Taylor Hall is trending
Taylor Hall is trending because he left Tuesday night's game early. The Carolina Hurricanes forward suffered an upper-body injury during the team's 4-2 win over the Washington Capitals and did not return. Here is what's known: Hall, 34, has three goals and five points this season, and he was hurt at some point during the game and never went back on the ice.
Here is what's not known. Coach Rod Brind'Amour did not give an official update in his postgame media availability. The only thing he told reporters was that it "doesn't look good." There is no diagnosis and no timeline yet. The next step is waiting on the team for more details on Hall's condition over the coming days.
What happened in the game
Carolina got the job done even with Hall out. Andrei Svechnikov scored twice, including the go ahead goal with 6:04 left in the third period. Eric Robinson and Mark Jankowski also scored for the Hurricanes. Goalie Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 20 shots and improved to 4-0-0 this season. The win was Carolina's sixth in a row.
Washington got goals from Boone Jenner and Justin Holl. Ryan Leonard picked up two assists, and goalie Logan Thompson made 31 saves in the loss.
Carolina already down a key piece
Hall's injury lands on top of a rough stretch for Carolina's forward group. Captain Jordan Staal, who was the playoff MVP during the Hurricanes' Stanley Cup championship run last season, is already out with a torn calf muscle. The team announced before Tuesday's game that Staal, 38, will miss one to two months. He got hurt during warmups before Carolina's pregame skate ahead of Sunday's game in Philadelphia, where he was a late scratch.
Hall was also a major piece of that title run. He finished with seven goals and 19 points across Carolina's 19 postseason games last spring, averaging 16 minutes and 28 seconds of ice time a night.
What's next
For now, there is no confirmed diagnosis or return date for Hall. Brind'Amour's comments suggest the team is bracing for a longer absence, but nothing has been made official. People searching for an update should expect more clarity from the Hurricanes in the coming days once Hall is further evaluated.
Until then, Carolina will lean on the group that just extended its win streak to six, Svechnikov, Robinson, Jankowski and Kochetkov among them, to carry the load up front and in net while Hall and Staal are sidelined.
Facts per ESPN, ESPN box score. Opinion is the taproom's.