The Carolina Hurricanes traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to take on the Predators in a home-and-home preseason series. While the Canes are still getting into the groove of the season, the Preds took over and posed a real threat to the Canes.
Without the team’s star players — primarily forwards Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov — the preseason roster has shuffled around, which was shown in the matchup with Nashville. 10 players listed on the roster were obtained by the Canes in the 2023 offseason, each trying to fight their way to a coveted roster spot.
The first period saw an energetic performance from the Canes, with the team totalling 22 shots on goal compared to the Predators’ 12.The first goal of the game was scored four minutes into the period, courtesy of Canes’ center Ryan Suzuki, who put Carolina up 1-0. The goal was assisted by right wing Felix Unger Sorum, who was the youngest eligible player in the 2023 draft. Despite being born in 2005, Sorum has now tallied an assist in three of his first four NHL preseason games.
With 16 minutes left in the first, it looked like open season for the Canes, until Nashville scored three goals before the buzzer sounded. Heading into the second period down 3-1, Carolina was looking to turn things around quickly.
That turned out to be easier said than done — the Canes shot less than 10 shots on goal in the second frame. The offense was unable to gain any momentum, and two other Predators’ goals put Carolina down 5-1.
The third period proved to be difficult for both teams, as neither side earned more than 15 shots on the opposing net. With this being said, no other goals were scored for the remainder of the game, sealing the visitors’ loss in the Music City. Carolina gave up six penalties — leading to a Nashville power play goal — while having four power plays handed to them. Despite having the man advantage during these four times, the Canes could not get a puck in the Predator’s net.
Netminder Antti Raanta struggled throughout the night, finishing with a .808 save percentage, stopping 18 of the 22 shots he faced. By the end of the game, head coach Rod Brind’Amor brought in goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov to fill in, and he stopped all seven shots on net.
Because this is a home-and-home series, Carolina has a very short turn-around period. Both teams will travel to Raleigh to play on Friday, Oct. 6 at PNC Arena, with puck drop set for 7 p.m.
