Eric Staal will return to Raleigh on Friday to he'll undergo an MRI on Saturday.
He suffered an apparent knee injury Thursday while representing Canada at the IIHF World Championship. Staal was the victim of a knee-to-knee hit from Sweden's Alexander Edler in the quarterfinals of the tournament and he appeared to be in serious pain.

Eric Staal suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury in Canada's quarterfinal shootout loss to Sweden at the IIHF World Championships.
He received a knee-on-knee hit from Alexander Edler, who was assessed a major for kneeing, with 4:14 left in the first period. Staal wasn't able to put any weight on his leg as he was helped off the ice. "It's unfortunate and hopefully it's not too serious," Carolina GM Jim Rutherford said. "If it is serious, hopefully there will be enough recovery time for him to be ready for next season. We'll just hope for the best." He will have an MRI exam in Stockholm from NHL doctors.

The Hurricanes are the first team in North Carolina to support gay and lesbian inclusivity.
"People's right to choose whatever in their lives is important. It's important enough for the Hurricanes to support it," Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said. "For people to have to carry certain things around in their life and not feel comfortable sharing it with other people, to me it isn't right. "You don't have to agree with everybody with what they do in their life, their different choices in their life. But everybody has that right." Canes winger Kevin Westgarth hopes the NHL "can become a beacon for other sports," as the NHL and NHLPA partnered with You Can Play in April.