Breaking: Starting goalie goes down in Game 2 of the playoffs on Sunday!

This game has quickly turned into a living nightmare for the Carolina Hurricanes. 

According to multiple reports, as well as a replay provided on the National Hockey League's broadcast of Game 2 between the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Islanders in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Hurricanes have just lost their starting goaltender in Petr Mrazek to injury. This would obviously be a cause for concern at the very best of times but in the heart of a playoff series you are currently leading has a way of amplifying the loss for the Hurricanes. 

Perhaps the biggest cause for concern here is exactly how it was that Mrazek came to be injured in this game. There was no traffic in front of his net and he was never bumped or pushed by another player, but instead appeared to suffer the injury while moving around in his crease. Mrazek appeared to be engaged in some rather typical goalie motions, moving from one side of his crease to the other, when he suddenly appeared to be favoring his right leg. There was not a great deal to look at on the replay so it is really hard to gauge how exactly Mrazek was injured, but these situations are often the ones that prove to be the most serious for NHL goaltenders.

There is another big cause for concern for the Carolina Hurricanes here. It was quite clear that Mrazek himself was very upset about what had just transpired in his net, although we still have no idea of knowing exactly what that is. What we do know is that when Mrazek skated over to the Hurricanes bench, in order to let backup goaltender Curtis McElhinney that he needed to get ready, he could be seen slamming his stick in frustration on the boards, indicating that the goalie himself knows something bad has just happened. 

Sadly for the Hurricanes that is not the only piece of bad news they have received in this game on the injury front. Earlier in the game Hurricanes defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk was destroyed by Islanders veteran forward Cal Clutterbuck, and the Hurricanes have since confirmed that he will not return.