EDMONTON -- The reality that Doug Weight, Carolina's sixth-leading scorer and third most-prolific
assist man, will miss Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final -- and likely a Game 7, if necessary -- hit home here
Friday afternoon.
The Hurricanes took the ice for a short, yet intense, practice at Rexall Place and Weight was nowhere to be found. With Weight's absence so conspicuous, coach Peter Laviolette dropped the charade that Weight was not hurt on the hit he absorbed from both Raffi Torres and Chris Pronger late in Game 5.
"Doug will be not be available for Game 6," Laviolette said. The coach did not rule a miraculous return by the veteran center for Game 7, but that seems unlikely.
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Schedule / Links:
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| Gm. 1: CAR 5, EDM 4 | Photos |
| Gm. 2: CAR 5, EDM 0 | Photos |
| Gm. 3: EDM 2, CAR 1 | Photos |
| Gm. 4: CAR 2, EDM 1 | Photos |
| Gm. 5: EDM 4, CAR 3 OT | Photos |
Gm. 6: June 17, 8:00 p.m. ET
at Edmonton (NBC, CBC, RDS) |
*Gm. 7: June 19, 8:00 p.m. ET
at Carolina (NBC, CBC, RDS) |
| *if necessary |
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While nobody on the Carolina side was happy to hear the bad news about Weight, the certainty that he will be out of Saturday's lineup at least allows the team to move and begin strategizing for life without perhaps the best passing center in this series.
"That's why it's a team," said defenseman Aaron Ward, also injured in Game 5, but cleared to play Saturday.
"We're just preparing for what we have in the locker room. That's what we are going to go forward with."
But surely the absence of Weight come Saturday will take some sort of emotional toll on his teammates, no?
After all, he was obtained from St. Louis earlier this year to an offensive game breaker.
"We'll have to see tomorrow," said Ward. "It's too early. Can't really tell what the team's reaction is until tomorrow."
Fortunately, Carolina has a few options available to lessen the severity of this blow.
Josef Vasicek, a natural centerman, is rounding into shape after returning to this series two games earlier. Fourth-line winger Chad LaRose is also available. He was a staple in the lineup throughout the playoffs until he was replaced by seventh defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky in Game 2. LaRose returned for Game 3, but was replaced by Vasicek in Games 4 and 5.
The use of Tverdovsky as a seventh defenseman is also a possibility, especially with the fragile state of
Carolina's defensemen this deep into the series.
"We can either insert Chad LaRose or add an additional defensemen," Laviolette allowed. "Or switch the lineup from there, still insert Chad and add an additional defensemen and take somebody else out. You guys should be able to figure it out just based on the players remaining. We'll make that decision tomorrow."
Clearly, Laviolette has a myriad of possibilities to ponder before handing in his Game 6 lineup Saturday night.
But, if Friday's lines in practice were any clue, it appears he could go with a full complement of 12 forwards. Friday afternoon, he had Eric Staal between Cory Stillman and Mark Recchi on one line. Rod Brind'Amour served as the pivot between Justin Williams and Ray Whitney. Vasicek was between Craig Adams and Matt Cullen and Kevyn Adams centered Andrew Ladd and LaRose.
Even without Weight, the Hurricanes still have at least seven active forwards that are both comfortable and effective playing the middle. None can replace Weight, but they can lessen the impact of his absence.
"The fact that Doug is out, we could move Kevyn Adams up or Josef Vasicek into the middle, or Matt Cullen back to the middle," Laviolette said. "I guess that's a good thing about having six centerman -- six or seven centermen -- on your team is that you have those options."
Tactically, it appears the Hurricanes are in good shape. In fact, the addition of Vasicek as a center gives the team a big body to more effectively deal with the very physically Edmonton defense. But again, it is the mental effects cause by Weight's absence that will be telling.
Friday, all the players said the right things.
It's tough that he's not going to be in the lineup for us, but that's part of reality, playoffs, those things are going to happen," Glen Wesley, Carolina's veteran defenseman, said. "We've been very fortunate all playoffs to have guys in the lineup. But, we've had guys step up all year long and through the playoffs when we have had adversity and we know what wed are going to have to go through."
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The Hurricanes will miss Doug Weight's leadership and firey play in Game 6.
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Don't forget, this is a team that has already dealt with long-term injuries to top offensive performers. Vasicek, the team's leading scorer in 2003-04, injured his knee in November and did not return -- ahead of schedule, mind you -- until the last few weeks of the regular season. Erik Cole, meanwhile, was leading the team in scoring this year before he suffered a horrific neck injury that has him ruled out until training camp.
Laviolette insists those trials and tribulations have prepared his team for this latest hurdle.
"As far as Doug coming out of the lineup, obviously it's a tough loss for us," Laviolette said. "Doug is part of the reason we have gotten this far. If you look back through the Playoffs at some of the big plays that he's made and the big goals that he scored or the big passes that he made like only Doug Weight can, he's a big part of it.
"In saying that, I am not sure that many teams sustained as many injuries as we did through the course of the year. I know some were hit pretty hard with injuries; our team was one of them. We had, I think, close to 270 man-games lost through the course of the game, but yet we were always able to maintain a winning attitude and record.
"It didn't seem to matter who was out. We had enough depth and we still believed that we do have enough depth to cover that. I mean we have done this without Erik Cole, who you have heard me say I believe is one of the top power forwards in the game, if not the top power forward, and it's not easy. You can't replace Cole. We won't be able to replace Doug Weight. He's a valuable part of this team. Somebody else is going to have to step up."
Saturday, the hockey world will find out exactly which player will step into the departed limelight.
