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Goaltending help on the way as Mrazek returns for Hurricanes

Hurricanes

RALEIGH, NC - FEBRUARY 16: Petr Mrazek #34 of the Carolina Hurricanes warms up prior to an NHL game against the Edmonton Oilers on February 16, 2020 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images)

NHLI via Getty Images

Injuries have been a pretty big hurdle for the Carolina Hurricanes recently in their push for a playoff spot.

Not only are they without two of their top defensemen -- Dougie Hamilton and Brett Pesce -- but they have also been down to their third-and fourth-string goalies due to the injuries to James Reimer (lower-body) and Petr Mrazek (concussion).

They will be getting one of them back on Tuesday when Mrazek gets the start against the Detroit Red Wings.

Both goalies were injured six games ago in Toronto, resulting in emergency goalie David Ayres taking their spot and getting the win.

With Mrazek and Reimer sidelined, the Hurricanes then went on to lose the next four games before finally snapping that streak with back-to-back wins against the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins this weekend.

In 39 appearances this season Mrazek has a 20-16-2 record with a .904 save percentage.

Alex Nedeljkovic and Anton Forsberg split the playing time over the past couple of weeks. Together, they had a sub-.900 save percentage in the six games.

Reimer has also been back on the ice this week and has accompanied the Hurricanes on their current road trip.

They enter Tuesday’s game against the Red Wings sitting in the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, owning a tiebreaker over the New York Islanders.

Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.