Jordan Staal breaks leg in Canes 2-0 preseason loss to Sabres

If someone has ever told you that the NHL preseason couldn’t be full of big headline injuries, it’s now that time to say “I told you so.”

The Carolina Hurricanes dropped their second of seven preseason contests last night, falling to the Buffalo Sabres 2-0 as Jhonas Enroth earned the shutout for Buffalo.

Enroth faced 35 shots in the game, including eight on goal from former Sabre Nathan Gerbe.

The Canes also had three power play attempts, but failed to capitalize on all three.

Both Anton Khudobin and Drew MacIntyre served shifts in net for Carolina, with the latter giving up the both Buffalo goals while facing 12 shots.

Khudobin allowed no scores on 9 shots, and seemed to have the best night on the team, though we can’t quite clarify that because the game was unavailable for viewing.

Normally this loss would not be such a big deal because it’s the preseason, but the Canes really felt the sting of defeat when center Jordan Staal went down and was helped off the ice in the third period.

It was later announced that Staall had indeed suffered a broken right leg. Here’s the official word from the Hurricanes on the injury.

"RALEIGH, NC – Ron Francis, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, tonight announced that center Jordan Staal suffered a broken bone in the lower portion of his right leg during the team’s preseason game against the Buffalo Sabres.Staal, 26, was injured during the third period when he got tangled up with Sabres defenseman Josh Gorges in the third period of Carolina’s 2-0 exhibition loss. Staal will return to Raleigh with the team on Wednesday and will be evaluated by team doctors on Thursday. A timetable for his recovery has yet to be determined."

From the looks of things, it looks like Staal could very well miss opening night, which gives backups Riley Nash and Victor Rask a chance to prove their worth down the stretch of the preseason.

Nash played exceptionally well in the faceoff, winning the puck 83% of the time.

The Canes will get ready for another test in the Empire State tonight, facing the Islanders at 7 p.m.