The Carolina Hurricanes have three wins in their first seven games and now are likely to be without defenseman Brett Pesce for the foreseeable future after the veteran sustained a lower-body injury. After missing the last two games, Pesce received his diagnosis, one that is apparently not good according to Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour.

“Bad news. I was hoping he'd be a day or two away, but that's definitely not the case,” Brind'Amour said, via Walt Ruff. “Way more than that. It's not good.” He did not specify exactly how long Pesce would be out for.

Pesce recorded two points in five games before going down with injury. He's in the final season of a six-year deal he signed with the Hurricanes, the only team he's played for during his nine-year NHL career. His absence will hurt Carolina's blue line, but it has the depth to cover the loss, at least for a little while.

Pesce did not miss a game for the Hurricanes last season and recorded a career-high 30 points. He registered his fifth consecutive plus-rated season as well. He has a +3 rating in five games this season.

The Hurricanes are trying to reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the sixth straight season but losing Brett Pesce for a significant amount of time hurts their chances. Carolina is already out to a rocky start and may now be playing a little more on edge with the indefinite loss of Pesce. The Hurricanes were swept in the Eastern Conference Final last season.