Teuvo Teravainen to return to Carolina Hurricanes lineup for Game 1

He’s back.

After suffering a broken hand in late April, Teuvo Teravainen is set to return to the Carolina Hurricanes lineup for Game 1 against the Florida Panthers on Thursday.

The Finnish forward played just two games in the first round against the New York Islanders before missing the entirety of the second round against New Jersey. Teravainen recorded no points, with just two in his past 10 games between the regular season and playoffs overall.

Still, Teravainen’s presence should give the Hurricanes a nice boost. He had a down year with just 37 points in 68 games, but was one of the team’s best playoff performers a year ago. The Hurricanes have managed to play well with Teravainen, Max Pacioretty and Andrei Svechnikov, and might very well be the favorite heading into the Eastern Conference final.

“It’s kind of crazy; I thought for sure I was done (for the playoffs),” Teravainen told reporters ahead of the series against the Panthers. “But the doctors did a really good job and it looks like I’m getting back pretty soon.

“The boys have done a really good job playing really good hockey. It’s tough to watch games from the outside. You always want to be helping, but they’ve done a really good job.”

Forward Sebastian Aho and defenseman Jordan Martinook have led the way offensively with 10 points each, while Jesper Fast, Seth Jarvis and Brent Burns all have eight points. They’re set to face a Panthers team fresh off beating the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs, with the Hurricanes entering as the top seed still in the running.

The Hurricanes will open the series at the PNC Arena on Thursday before hosting Game 2 on Saturday. The series will shift to Florida for Monday and Wednesday, with a potential Game 5 going back to Carolina on May 26. For a full preview of the series, click here.