Ice hockey Hurricanes Justin Williams Ruled out Wednesday
Good and bad news for the Carolina Hurricanes.
Doug Hamilton made his return to the team’s lineup, but it is without the services of forward Justin Williams and defenceman Sami Vatanen for Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.
Williams and Vatanen were ruled unfit to play, per team reporter Michael Smith.
Hamilton, meanwhile, is back after being deemed unfit to play since July 22, when he suffered an undisclosed injury during Carolinas summer training camp. He had 14 goals and 40 points in 47 games before a fractured fibula ended his regular season on Jan. 16.
With Williams and Vatanen unavailable, Ryan Dzingel and Jake Gardiner drew into the lineup.
Nicknamed Mr. Game. 7, the three-time Stanley Cup champion Williams, 38, has racked up 101 points in 158 post-season games.
Williams was deemed unfit for the clash in Wednesday's Game 1 Boston, Michael Smith of the Hurricanes' official site report.
With limited information coming out of the bubble, it's unclear if something changed with Williams' status due to Game 1 being rescheduled or if he was going to miss the contest anyway and the team never provided an update. With the veteran on the shelf, Ryan Dzingel will jump into the lineup.
