Dwyer, Rodney recalled

Pat Dwyer, Bryan Rodney

(Photo by Jennifer Bock)

The Carolina Hurricanes today recalled forward Pat Dwyer and defenseman Bryan Rodney from the Albany River Rats. 

Hurricanes' forwards Erik Cole and Chad LaRose remain on injured reserve and Sergei Samsonov is now listed as day-to-day with a lower-body complication. 

Defenseman Joe Corvo, who is out with a severed achilles tendon, is now accompanied on the sidelines by blueliners Niclas Wallin, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and Tim Gleason, who took a puck in the face Friday night in Washington. 

Dwyer and Rodney join Brett Carson and Jay Harrison, both of whom were recalled from Albany last Sunday, as well as center Brandon Sutter, who earned a spot on the NHL roster earlier this season. 

This is the third call-up of the year for Dwyer, who just returned to Albany on Sunday after playing for Carolina the previous two nights. In eight total contests with the Canes this season, Dwyer averaged 11:58 of ice-time and performed admirably on the penalty killing unit. 

Rodney, entering his fourth NHL stint of the year, notched two assists and averaged 18:27 of ice-time in seven games during his previous assignments. He was applauded for moving the puck well and holding down the point on the power play.

The call-up of Rodney leaves the River Rats with just five defenseman.

News & Notes

• Forward Jacob MicFlikier has been reassigned to the Florida Everblades of the ECHL. MicFlikier was called up to Albany on October 24th after Steven Goertzen suffered a concussion. Goertzen is now healthy. In three games with the River Rats, MicFlikier had a goal and a +2 rating. Expect him back at some point this season.

• The Carolina Hurricanes have placed defenseman Jay Harrison on waivers. Harrison will likely clear waivers and be reassigned to Albany. He will hopefully provide some much-needed relief at the Rats' blue line. Harrison was filling in for Canes' D-man Tim Gleason, who is expected to return to action tomorrow night. 

• The Carolina Hurricanes have won just two of 13 games. General Manager Jim Rutherford is preparing to make some major changes. Trades and call-ups could be on the horizon, especially if the Hurricanes keep losing. 

• Carolina's top forward Eric Staal is expected to miss several games with an upper-body injury sustained over the weekend. He is listed as week-to-week. The Hurricanes have two extra players to insert in the line-up: Stephane Yelle and Tim Conboy. If the Canes are not satisfied with those options, well, you know the drill. 

• The River Rats' weekly recap is available here. 

• Watch the next installment of Murphy's Mailbag here.
  

Canes' update

The Carolina Hurricanes continue to struggle. With a 6-1 loss yesterday to Philadelphia and a 5-1 loss today against San Jose, the Canes' record now stands at 2-8-3. Carolina is one point away from occupying last place in the Eastern Conference. 

The team's line-up continues to shuffle. 

The Hurricanes today saw the return of Tuomo Ruutu, who just finished a three-game suspension, as well as Erik Cole, who suffered a fractured leg early in the season. Center Stephane Yelle, who was recently put through waivers, was scratched. 

Brandon Sutter, who was called up from Albany last weekend, replaced Yelle as the team's fourth-line center. Sutter scored the Hurricanes' only two goals this weekend. The chances of him coming back to the Rats are slim to none.

Eric Staal suffered an upper-body injury in the second period against San Jose. He did not return for the third. If Stall is unable to play in the Canes' next game on Wednesday, Stephane Yelle and former Albany captain Tim Conboy are available. But another call-up could always be in the works, especially with the team's recent poor performance. 

Tim Gleason is practicing in Raleigh and could return to action as early as this week. That would give the Canes an extra defenseman. Jay Harrison may or may not be sent down.

Canes lose another D-man UPDATED

Just as the Carolina Hurricanes regained one defenseman, they lost another.

The good news: Joni Pitkanen is back skating a regular shift with the Canes and playing fantastic. The bad news: Tim Gleason could be the organization's latest defensive casualty.

Gleason left tonight's game against the New York Islanders with an upper body injury. We are still waiting for an update on his condition. 

At the start of the season fans in Albany were expecting Casey Borer, Jay Harrison and Brett Carson to hold down the Rats' blue line. Borer never made to training camp; Harrison never made it to Albany; and Carson was injured in his second game. 

The saga continues. 

During the offseason the Rats wisely signed Jonathan Paiement and Benn Olson for defensive depth. Less than four weeks into the season, both are proving to be invaluable. 

UPDATE: Gleason went in for X-rays after the game. He is now listed as day-to-day, so we assume nothing is fractured. According to Chip Alexander, Gleason will probably sit out Friday's game against the Colorado Avalanche. Jay Harrison will be back in.