Hurricanes lose Staal to injury

Carolina Hurricanes centre Eric Staal(notes) will be out of the lineup for the first time in over five years according to a report.

The Raleigh News and Observer reported that Staal suffered an upper body injury in the team’s last game, a loss to San Jose on Sunday. General manager Jim Rutherford told the newspaper Staal would miss some games, although a time frame wasn’t specified.

Staal was suiting for his 349th consecutive game but left after the second period in Carolina’s 5-1 loss to the Sharks. Only Calgary defenceman Jay Bouwmeester(notes) has appeared in more consecutive games among active players.

The Hurricanes lost their ninth straight game, with their biggest offensive star off to a slow start. Staal had just three goals and two assists through 13 games.

The Thunder Bay, Ont., native has missed just one regular season game in his career, during his 2003-04 rookie season.

He joins a growing list of high-profile stars on the sidelines around the NHL, including Evgeni Malkin(notes), Ilya Kovalchuk(notes), Andrei Markov(notes), Daniel Sedin(notes) and Marc Savard(notes).

Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin also left early on Sunday, but his status is unknown.