Hurricane's Weight will miss tonight's Game 6

EDMONTON, Alberta -- The Carolina Hurricanes will be one key player down for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals.

Center Doug Weight won't play today after a crushing hit by two Edmonton players left him with an injured shoulder. The Hurricanes lead the series 3-2, but the Oilers forced another game with an overtime win in Raleigh on Wednesday.

In that game, Weight was sandwiched between Chris Pronger and Raffi Torres on a check in the opening minute of the third period. The Carolina player doubled over in pain and headed to the bench, both arms hanging limply at his side.

The Hurricanes didn't reveal the extent of the injury, though it appeared Weight's right shoulder took the brunt of it. He returned to the bench during the game, but never got back on the ice.

After Weight skipped practice Friday, Carolina Peter Laviolette didn't even try to hide the severity of the condition.

"Doug will not be available to us for Game 6," said Laviolette, going against his usual practice of being tightlipped about injuries.

And a possible Game 7?

"I have no comment on that right now," Laviolette said. "But for Game 6, he's not available."

The 35-year-old Weight was acquired from the St. Louis Blues in January to bolster Carolina's front line. He had 15 goals and 42 assists during the regular season, and has added three goals and 13 assists in 23 playoff games.

The Hurricanes will cope with the loss by moving Matt Cullen back to center. He played the position before the trade for Weight, then finished out the season as a wing. He has four goals and 12 assists during the playoffs.

Another Carolina player, defenseman Aaron Ward, was hurt a couple of times in Wednesday's loss. First, he took a crushing blow from Torres into the boards during the second period. Then, Ward hobbled off again in the third after being caught in the foot with one of Pronger's fearsome slapshots.

But Ward practiced Friday and plans to be in the lineup for Game 6.

"I'm all in one piece," the 33-year-old Ward said. "Everything works as it's supposed to. Everything's fine."