WATCH – Max Pacioretty’s lower-body injury overshadows Hurricanes’ 5-2 win against Wilds, NHL Twitter reacts

<strong>WATCH – Max Pacioretty’s lower-body injury overshadows Hurricanes’ 5-2 win against Wilds, NHL Twitter reacts</strong>

Max Pacioretty [Image Credit: Yahoo Sports/CTV News]

Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 victory celebration over Minnesota Wild got dampened as forward Max Pacioretty exited the ice with a lower-body injury. He crunched down, clutching the lower part of his right leg which already underwent Achilles surgery back in the summer of last year.

According to head coach Rod Brind’Armor, Pacioretty will undergo MRI on Friday. His results will confirm his return timeline. The winger logged off the ice with 19.3 seconds left in the team’s win with a non-contact injury. He was smoothly skating on the ice until he collapsed suddenly. 

As he played the puck along the boards, Pacioretty suddenly pulled up and grabbed the back of his lower right leg. On January 12, the winger left the game against Columbus Blue Jackets after suffering an injury. He was recently activated off the IR, missing nearly 3 months due to surgery back in August. 

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Max Pacioretty will undergo MRI for further evaluation

Max Pacioretty
Max Pacioretty

Last week he missed 2 games, one against Pittsburgh Penguins, and the other being Vancouver Canucks. Head coach Brind’Armor commented, “It doesn’t look good. I mean, we don’t know, but it doesn’t look good”. “Hopefully it’s not as bad as we think, but I’m not too optimistic right now.” 

Pacioretty had to be helped to get off the ice as he trodded back to the locker room. According to reports, he could not put pressure on his injured leg at all. Max Pacioretty signed a 4-year $28 million contract with an annual average value of $7 million with the Hurricanes after getting traded from the Vegas Golden Knights in July.

https://twitter.com/HabsFrosty/status/1616273026470871040

In 2022-23 he is reported to have a base salary of $5.25 million with a cap hit of $7 million. This regular season he made a score 3 points with 3 goals in 5 games. In his NHL career, he recorded 645 points with 326 goals and 319 points in 855 games played.

Brind’Armord said, “We know what kind of player he is’. The times Pacioretty took on the ice gave the team and his fans a glimpse of what he’s capable of performing in full health, “It’s the kind of player that we needed, a guy who could put the puck in the net.”

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