The Carolina Hurricanes are off to a decent start this season, but they received some unfortunate injury news on Thursday ahead of their matchup with the Calgary Flames. Hurricanes right wing Andrei Svechnikov did not play in Thursday's game against the Flames, and Carolina lost the game 3-2.

Andrei Svechnikov is currently battling an upper-body injury, according to the Hurricanes PR Twitter account. That injury is what kept him out of Thursday's close loss to the Flames. It is unclear how much time he will have to miss, but after a solid start to the year for the Hurricanes, they will need him back soon.

So far on the season, the Hurricanes are 14-11-1 with 29 points. They are currently in fourth place in the Metropolitan division, and they look like they could be a playoff team if they can stay healthy throughout the season. Obviously, losing Svechnikov is a tough blow, and they lost their first game without him in the lineup. If he is out for a long time, it could spell trouble for Carolina.

The Hurricanes were in a much better spot when the week started as their loss on Thursday against Calgary was their third loss in a row. The injury to Svechnikov certainly isn't helping the team snap out of their funk. The road isn't getting much easier for the Hurricanes as they still have three road games left on their road trip. They look to bounce back next when they take on the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. They will then take on the Ottawa Senators and the Detroit Red Wings before heading home.

Svechnikov's season was cut short due to an ACL injury last year, so hopefully he is able to return to the ice for the Hurricanes as soon as possible.