Before Game 2 of a first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen had not played in more than two weeks, out with what the Hurricanes termed a lower-body injury. He remained a “game-time decision,” Coach Rod Brind’Amour said, even though reporters deduced that backup Antti Raanta would play after he appeared in the crease at the morning skate. Raanta exited during the first period that night after a collision. Brind’Amour revealed afterward that Raanta had an upper-body injury and provided no insight as to when he might play again.

The obfuscation of player injuries during the Stanley Cup playoffs has hardened over the years into a quaint and often comical tradition, as much a part of hockey’s spring as playoff beards and post-series handshake lines.