RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Carolina Hurricanes forward Teuvo Teravainen and Florida Panthers forward Ryan Lomberg returned from injury for Thursday night's Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final.
Teravainen hasn't played since suffering what the team described as a hand injury in Game 2 of the first-round series against the New York Islanders. The injury required surgery on April 20 and left him with a scar running the length of his left thumb.
His return Thursday night comes exactly four weeks after the surgery and he drew loud cheers when he was shown on the videoboard during pregame warmups.
Teravainen — who has worked on the top line as a strong passer and penalty killer — had been skating with the team in practices this week leading up to the best-of-seven series. He worked on a line with captain Jordan Staal and Martin Necas in Thursday's morning skate, and was listed alongside them shortly before puck drop..
Lomberg had missed eight straight games due to an upper-body injury, including the Panthers' five-game series against Toronto in the second round.
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