Hurricanes’ Taylor Hall expected to return following five-game absence

The Carolina Hurricanes have held on to the top spot in the NHL standings despite a rash of injuries to some of their top forwards, but help is on the way.

Veteran left winger Taylor Hall returned to the team’s practice on Monday morning, and he shared with team reporter Walt Ruff that he is feeling good and is ready to return from an injury that has held him out of the Hurricanes’ lineup for the past five games.

Hall suffered an upper-body injury on October 13 as Carolina picked up a victory on home ice over the Washington Capitals, and he missed the entirety of the Canes’ annual State Fair road trip that takes place every October.

Carolina swung through Western Canada and tacked on a stop in St. Louis on Saturday before returning home to Raleigh, and the reigning Stanley Cup champions went 3-1-1 on the trip to improve their overall record to 9-2-2. Their 20 points in the standings are the most in the league, and their plus-18 goal differential is second only to the Boston Bruins.

Prior to his injury, the No. 1 overall pick from the 2010 NHL Draft had notched five points (three goals and two assists) in eight games played as he reprised his role as the veteran on Carolina’s second line alongside young stars Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake.

At one point on the road trip, the Hurricanes were missing one key forward from all four of their lines, with Seth Jarvis, Jordan Staal and Mark Jankowski also out along with Hall. Jarvis returned from off-season shoulder surgery for the last two games of the trip, while Staal and Jankowski both remain sidelined.

After the five-game road trip, Carolina now has a three-game homestand at the Lenovo Center that kicks off against the Bruins on Tuesday. They’ll then host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday and the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.