When the Hurricanes return to play for the first time since last Tuesday on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, it will hardly be under ideal circumstances. The Canes will be without five lineup regulars in forwards Jesper Fast, Teuvo Teravainen, Jordan Martinook and Warren Foegele and defenseman Jaccob Slavin due to their placement on the NHL’s COVID protocol list.
However, those absences will mean opportunities for others. One of those is rookie forward Steven Lorentz, who is expected to make his NHL debut Thursday, and was grinning from ear to ear at the prospect of it during a Zoom media availability Wednesday.