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Out of juice: Jussi Jokinen out 3-4 weeks for Carolina

Jussi Jokinen

Carolina Hurricanes’ Jussi Jokinen (36), of Finland, is congratulated by teammates following his goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the second period of a preseason NHL hockey game, Friday, Sept. 30, 2011, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

AP

The Hurricanes are hoping to keep it relevant early this season and losing guys to injury won’t help that. While they’ve got young hopeful Zac Dalpe slowly recovering, they’re going to lose Jussi Jokinen now for the next 3-4 weeks thanks to a leg injury.

Jokinen is one of their better penalty killers and shorthanded threat to score. He’s also one of their top six forwards on a team that’s trying to get consistent. Having to fall back on younger guys consistently the way the Hurricanes do gets in the way of all that while giving their youth a shot to prove their NHL worth.

Where this will really hurt is in scoring as Jokinen is second on the team in points to start the year. While Eric Staal is still trying to get himself going, Jeff Skinner has avoided the sophomore slump to lead the way. They need all their stars rolling to be winners and losing Jokinen will prove to be test enough for the ‘Canes.