A Nino Niederreiter sighting. Here’s when the injured Canes forward might return

Nino Niederreiter was back on the ice Monday, perhaps getting the Carolina Hurricanes one player closer to full strength, perhaps before it’s too late.

The forward was injured in practice last Saturday and missed the first four games of the second-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but could be back in the lineup as the Hurricanes face elimination in Tuesday’s Game 5, down 3-1 in the series.

Vincent Trocheck (leg) and Warren Foegele (shoulder) both skated before Monday’s practice, the team said. Trocheck was injured in Game 2 and did not play in either game in Tampa; Foegele was injured in Game 3 and played but was ineffective in Game 4. Brind’Amour said both remained game-time decisions but he was more optimistic about Niederreiter.

“That was his first practice with us in a long time,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “But he looked good. We need him.”

Niederreiter had just one goal in six first-round games but scored 20 in 56 regular-season games.

“Obviously, we miss him,” Hurricanes forward Martin Necas said. “He’s a big part of our team. We’re missing a few guys right now, but if he’s going to come back, it’s a big help for us.”

Power-play practice

While most attention has been focused on the Hurricanes’ inability to stop the Lightning’s electric power play — rolling along at 14-for-34 in the postseason — the Hurricanes haven’t been able to muster a response of their own on the man advantage, and not necessarily because of fewer opportunities. The Hurricanes have two goals on 11 chances compared to Tampa’s six on 14.

That was a focus in Monday’s practice, especially adjusting to Tampa’s more aggressive short-handed approach.

“We had just two chances but we need to be sharper on those two,” Hurricanes defenseman Dougie Hamilton said. “They came with a lot more pressure and we have to be ready for it. It’s a long series. We’re going to change things and they’re going to adapt. They’re going to change things and we have to adapt.”

The first power-play unit remained the same in practice Monday — Sebastian Aho, Jordan Staal, Teuvo Teravainen, Necas and Hamilton — but Morgan Geekie and Niederreiter both worked with the second unit, replacing Foegele and Brett Pesce.

Resting up

With a 6:30 p.m. start Tuesday after two days off, the Hurricanes have elected to skip their usual morning skate. They took Sunday as a travel/off day and stayed away from the rink entirely, then practiced at PNC Arena on Monday.

“The way that game went, the ebbs and flows, the way it ended up, it was nice to have a day to get away from it,” Brind’Amour said.

The two-day gap between games was the first the Hurricanes have had in the middle of a series these playoffs. They had two days off between Game 6 of the Nashville series and Game 1 of the Tampa series.

“It’s a little different because we’ve kind of been playing every other day in the playoffs,” Hamilton said. “It’s a good chance for us to reset, though — get away from hockey a little bit yesterday, get back into it today, have a little freshness.”