SUNRISE, Fla. -- Florida Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo suffered an upper-body injury in the first period of the team's 3-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Panthers coach Peter Horachek confirmed Luongo was pulled for precautionary reasons and said an update on the goaltender's injury would be available Friday morning.
With a little less than seven minutes left in the first period, Hurricanes winger Radek Dvorak charged the net on a scoring chance. While crashing into the net, Dvorak appeared to hit Luongo in the helmet with his right elbow.
Dvorak was assessed a five minute major for charging and a game misconduct.
Luongo remained on the ice for a few moments and was tended to by trainer Dave Zenobi. Luongo played out the rest of the period.
Dan Ellis took Luongo's place in net at the start of the second period and finished the contest.
''I had an idea something was going down with Louie and to be ready,'' Ellis said. ''They told me I was going in there.
''It's never a fun situation because you know your partner, something might not be good with him. But that's the job and you have to be ready when they call you.''
Luongo allowed one goal on 12 shots in 20 minutes of action.
You can follow Erin Brown on Twitter @rinkside or email her at erinbrownfla@gmail.com.
