The Carolina Hurricanes will be without their highest-scoring defenseman for the foreseeable future.

Justin Faulk suffered a lower-body injury against Boston on Dec. 23 and is considered week to week, head coach Bill Peters announced.

In 30 games this season, Faulk recorded seven goals and nine assists while averaging 23:06 of ice time - six seconds below team leader Jaccob Slavin.

The Hurricanes emerge from the holiday break seven points behind Philadelphia, which holds the Eastern Conference's second wild-card playoff spot. Bridging that gap will be much more difficult without Faulk.