SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) -Carolina Hurricanes forward Erik Cole was removed from the ice on a stretcher in the third period Monday night and taken to a hospital after colliding with Florida Panthers goalie Tomas Vokoun.

Cole was injured at 12:34 as he was driving to the net. He was checked from behind by defenseman Jassen Cullimore and crashed headfirst into Vokoun's pads.

``He was saying, 'Something is wrong with my neck,''' Vokoun said after Carolina's 4-3 victory. ``He didn't want to move. It's tough. It's a contact game. Things like that can happen, unfortunately.''

Cole remained motionless for several minutes before being taken off the ice.

``From what I understand, he had movement in his limbs,'' Carolina coach Peter Laviolette said. ``He had some pain in his trapezoid area, and I think with his previous injury, not knowing what's going on in there, it's just better to be safe.''

The veteran of six NHL seasons is less than two years removed from a serious neck injury. Cole sustained a fractured vertebra on March 4, 2006, when he was boarded by Pittsburgh's Brooks Orpik.

He missed the remainder of that regular season and Carolina's first 23 playoff games before making a surprise return to the Hurricanes lineup for the final two contests of the Stanley Cup finals when the team won its only NHL championship.

Cole's teammates were encouraged by the early reports of his condition.

``He had a stinger feeling going down both sides of his body,'' Hurricanes center Eric Staal said. ``I know on the ice he had some strength in his arms and movement in his legs.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.