Sullivan 'hopeful' Daley injury not serious

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Penguins' blue line took yet another hit.

Trevor Daley left the ice late in the first period of the 3-1 victory over the Hurricanes on Tuesday night at PNC Arena and did not return because of what Mike Sullivan called a lower-body injury. Sullivan added that Daley will be evaluated Wednesday and this: "We’re hopeful that it won’t be anything significant, and we’ll see where that goes."

The Penguins are now down three of their top six defensemen with Justin Schultz and Olli Maatta already out.



Daley played 8:34, leaving the Penguins with five defensemen for the final two periods. Despite that, they allowed Carolina just six shots in the third.

"That’s the nature of our business," Sullivan said. "Fortunately we have some depth. We’ve had some guys who have stepped in and have done an admirable job."

Ian Cole was second on the team with 24:36 of ice time against the Hurricanes, including more than six minutes on the penalty kill. Brian Dumoulin played next to Kris Letang on the power play late in the third period. The Penguins are running out of options on the blue line, though. Chad Ruhwedel and Steve Oleksy played well enough against the Hurricanes.