Dougie Hamilton returned to practice with the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.
The defenseman had not practiced since July 22 when he left the ice in discomfort during power-play drills. He did not play in Carolina's sweep of the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers in Toronto, the Eastern Conference hub city.
Coach Rod Brind'Amour said on Friday he's not sure when Hamilton would be ready to play. The Hurricanes' next game would be Tuesday at the earliest.
"It's a good sign to see him out there. I'm not sure 100 percent when he'll be ready. It's on him, kinda." Brind'Amour said. "We're just gauging it off how he feels. You would hope that four or five days from now he'll be that much better. We're still day to day with him and we probably will be right up until the first game.
"But obviously him being out there yesterday and today, that's a good sign for us."
Hamilton hasn't played since having surgery Jan. 17 to repair a fractured left fibula. He scored 40 points (14 goals, 26 assists) in 47 games this season.
The No. 6 seed Hurricanes advanced to the Stanley Cup Playoffs by completing a three-game sweep of the No. 11 seed Rangers with a 4-1 win at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday. Center Sebastian Aho and forward Svechnikov combined for 13 points (six goals, seven assists), with Aho's eight points (three goals, five assists) leading the Qualifiers. Jaccob Slavin (24:02) and Joel Edmundson (21:23) led Carolina defensemen in average ice time in Hamilton's absence.
"It's a special group we have," coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "We need everyone, and they understand that, and everyone's contributing right now. And that's why we're still playing."
Carolina will play the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals or Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs, set to begin Tuesday. The Bruins, Flyers, Capitals and Lightning are playing in the round-robin portion of the Qualifiers to determine the top four seeds in the East.
