Hurricanes’ Hamilton returns; Williams, Vatanen ruled unfit to vs. Bruins

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) stops Carolina Hurricanes right wing Justin Williams (14) during first period NHL hockey action in Toronto, Saturday, Feb.22, 2020. (Frank Gunn/CP)

Good and bad news for the Carolina Hurricanes.

Dougie Hamilton made his return to the team’s lineup, but it is without the services of forward Justin Williams and defenceman Sami Vatanen for Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.

Williams and Vatanen were ruled unfit to play, per team reporter Michael Smith.

Hamilton, meanwhile, is back after being deemed unfit to play since July 22, when he suffered an undisclosed injury during Carolina’s summer training camp. He had 14 goals and 40 points in 47 games before a fractured fibula ended his regular season on Jan. 16.

With Williams and Vatanen unavailable, Ryan Dzingel and Jake Gardiner drew into the lineup.

Nicknamed Mr. Game. 7, the three-time Stanley Cup champion Williams, 38, has racked up 101 points in 158 post-season games.

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.