Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen has blood clotting issue, out indefinitely

Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen is out indefinitely after medical tests found a blood clotting issue.

General manager Don Waddell issued an update on Andersen’s status Monday, saying there’s no timetable for the 34-year-old’s return. Waddell said the team does expect Andersen to make a full recovery.

Veteran Jaroslav Halak has joined the team on a free agent tryout. Antti Raanta is expected to shoulder the load in net in Andersen’s absence.

Andersen last played Thursday and was 4-1-0 with a 2.87 goals-against average and .894 save percentage in six starts this season.

The Denmark native has played 547 NHL regular-season and playoff games for the Anaheim Ducks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Hurricanes since making his debut in 2013.

Halak, 38, played for the New York Rangers last season and was 10-9-5 with a 2.72 GAA and .903 save percentage. He has appeared in 581 contests (539 starts) with seven teams over 17 NHL seasons.

Raanta recorded 22 saves in Saturday’s 4-3 win in overtime against the host New York Islanders.

Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour told reporters the team would recall goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov from the American Hockey League. Kochetkov played in three NHL games earlier this season after making 24 appearances (23 starts) for Carolina last year.

Backstrom woes ’emotional for everybody’

Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan said it’s unlikely Nicklas Backstrom plays again this season after the Swedish centre stepped away from the team last week, citing the ongoing issues with his surgically repaired left hip.

MacLellan stopped short of ruling Backstrom out for the remainder of the season or saying the franchise cornerstone had played his final NHL game. The soon-to-be 36-year-old is expected to go on long-term injured reserve in the near future.

“It’s emotional for everybody. He’s been such a big part of the organization,” MacLellan said Monday. “It’s a tough situation, and eventually everybody’s got to move on.”

Backstrom is the Capitals’ second-longest-tenured player behind captain Alex Ovechkin, and his 762 career assists in the regular season are the most in franchise history. After arthroscopic surgery on the hip in 2015, he had the more invasive operation in the summer of 2022 and insisted at the start of training camp he was fully healthy and ready to play.

He had just one point in eight games this season, was taken off the top power-play unit and had his ice time drastically reduced. It looked in practice like he was a candidate to be a healthy scratch before the decision was made to take a leave of absence.

“You watch his progression here over the last two-plus years: playing hurt, numerous recovery attempts to get it better, then the hip resurfacing,” MacLellan said. “It’s been a long process that has been hard on him mentally and emotionally. It’s been hard to see him go through all that stuff.”

Fellow Swede Rasmus Sandin said Backstrom helped make him feel comfortable since being traded from Toronto in late February, and he brings as much in the locker room as on the ice.

“It’s a hole that is tough to fill,” Sandin said. “But he’s got to do what he’s got to do, and we completely understand that.”

Hughes crashed awkwardly into boards

The New Jersey Devils dubbed star forward Jack Hughes week-to-week due to an upper-body injury.

Hughes was hurt Friday night during the first period of the Devils’ game at the St. Louis Blues.

He was driving toward the net at full speed when he appeared to slip and then went awkwardly into the end boards. He came back for his next shift but left after 59 seconds.

“Actually, I think we’re fortunate,” Devils head coach Lindy Ruff said Sunday. “He came back, he tried a shift, we got him on his way home to be taken care of by people back in Jersey.”

Hughes is tied with Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson for the most points in the NHL with 20. Through 10 games, Hughes has five goals and a league-best 15 assists.

The 2019 No. 1 overall draft pick is New Jersey’s top-line centre. He received Hart Trophy votes last season after a breakout campaign that saw him set career highs in games played (78), goals (43), assists (56) and points (99).

Hughes, 22, has 92 goals and 227 points in 254 regular-season games.

The Devils (7-3-1, 15 points) were already without captain and usual second-line centre Nico Hischier, who is not on the team’s current road trip after suffering an upper-body injury Oct. 27.

Early return for Vasilevskiy?

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy could return to the ice by U.S. Thanksgiving on Nov. 23, which would be slightly ahead of his original recovery schedule from last month’s back surgery.

Head coach Jon Cooper told reporters the two-time, Stanley Cup-winning goalie’s rehab is progressing well and he would be “disappointed if [Vasilevskiy’s return] is in early December.”

Vasilevskiy, 29, was expected to miss eight to 10 weeks following a microdiscectomy on a lumbar herniation early last month.

The 2019 Vezina Trophy and 2021 Conn Smythe Trophy winner was a workhorse for the Lightning during back-to-back Cup Final wins in 2020 and ’21 and a Cup final appearance in ’22.

Perhaps the workload caught up to Vasilevskiy, since last season his numbers (34-22-4, 2.65 goals-against average, .915 save percentage) were below his career averages, and he and the Lightning were bounced by Toronto in the first round.

“The first 30, 35 games felt as usual,” Vasilevskiy said in the spring. “But then just me and my body probably wasn’t on the same page. All those small injuries came out at the same time. My mistake was that I didn’t really pay attention to recovery.”

In his absence, Jonas Johansson has fared well this season, going 5-1-3 with two shutouts, a 2.87 GAA and .916 save percentage.