Hurricanes' Darling activated from IR, assigned to minors for conditioning

Scott Darling's getting back in the game.

The Carolina Hurricanes netminder was activated from injured reserve Monday and then subsequently assigned to the AHL's Charlotte Checkers on a conditioning stint, general manager Don Waddell announced.

Darling is set to play in Wednesday's AHL contest against the Utica Comets. It will mark his first appearance since he suffered a lower-body injury in the Hurricanes' final preseason game on Sept. 30.

With Darling sidelined, the Hurricanes have turned to Petr Mrazek, who was signed as a free agent over the summer, and Curtis McElhinney, who was claimed off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Carolina is 4-3-1 through eight games and sits atop the Metropolitan Division with nine points.

The 29-year-old Darling's in his second season with the Hurricanes and is looking to make up for a poor showing in 2017-18. Across 43 contests last season, he came away with just 13 wins and an abysmal .888 save percentage. He's under contract through the 2020-21 campaign.