Hurricanes Week-In-Review: September 29-October 5

Game Recap – 9/30 at St. Louis: The Hurricanes took on the St. Louis Blues in the first of back-to-back road preseason games on Tuesday and came up short, losing 3-1. Coach Bill Peters called the team “flat” and said he didn’t think they “generated much offense”. Cam Ward played his first full 60-minute preseason game, and stopped 26-out-of-29 shots in the process. Despite the score, Ward felt confident and was “real happy” his game. The ‘Canes defensemen continue to show their offensive flair, as Ryan Murphy picked up the lone Carolina goal in the game. Despite seeing notable improvements in the team’s powerplay over the last few games, the ‘Canes went 0-for-5 against the Blues.

Game Recap – 10/1 at Columbus: The second of two back-to-back road preseason games took the Hurricanes to Columbus to face the Blue Jackets. Columbus lead the way offensively throughout the game, winning 6-3. This game was used to determine which of the remaining young guys will make the team at the start of the year. The Hurricanes iced a very young lineup, with Victor Rask stealing the show by scoring two goals. The ‘Canes kept the game close through two periods, but fell flat against the Jackets in the third. Head coach Bill Peters was also impressed with Michal Jordan, who scored the other ‘Canes goal, “Jordan has shown some good poise with the puck, especially on the power play”.

Training Camp Roster Reduces by 10: On Thursday GM Ron Francis announced that forwards Phil Di Giuseppe, Brock McGinn, Carter Sandlak, Brody Sutter, and Brendan Woods; defenseman Danny Biega, Michal Jordan, and Rasmus Rissanen; and goaltender Drew MacIntyre were all assigned to the Charlotte Checkers. In addition, defenseman Haydn Fleury was sent back to his junior team, the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League. With these cuts, the training camp roster now sits at 25 players.

Jordan Staal Placed on IR: On Thursday GM Ron Francis also announced that Jordan Staal had been placed on injured reserve. Staal fractured his fibula in a preseason game against the Buffalo Sabres and is expected to be out 3-4 months.

Game Recap – 10/3 vs. Buffalo: The Hurricanes returned home Friday night for their final home preseason game against the Buffalo Sabres. The team came out full steam ahead and trounced the Sabres 5-1. Elias “Lucky Lindy” Lindholm tallied a hat trick in the game, and Cam Ward stood on his head by allowing only one goal on 20 shots. Head coach Bill Peters said of the game, “that was probably our best effort to date.”

Patrick Brown Assigned to Charlotte: On Saturday GM Ron Francis announced that Patrick Brown had been assigned to the Charlotte Checkers, leaving 24 players on the training camp roster. Many fans were surprised that Brown made it thus far in training camp, as well as head coach Bill Peters. Peters said he was impressed with Brown’s camp and is excited for his first full year in Charlotte.

Game Recap – 10/5 at Washington: The Hurricanes traveled to our nation’s capital for their final preseason game, a Sunday matinée against the Washington Capitals. This game was a very disappointing effort put out by the Hurricanes, with Jiri Tlusty saying that is “how not to play hockey; we don’t want to play like that.” The ‘Canes came out flat and finished flat, losing 5-2. The game turned chippy after Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen hit Jeff Skinner with a high elbow, sending Skinner awkwardly to the ice. Skinner left the game but said he felt fine after the game. He will be reevaluated on Monday. Later in the game Eric Staal hit John Carlson behind the Capitals net, which was then followed by Alex Ovechkin tackling Staal to the ice. Both the Niskanen hit and Ovechkin tackle received no penalties. The few bright spots of the game included goals by John-Michael Liles and Jiri Tlusty.

Injury Report:

• Jordan Staal (leg) – out 3-4 months
• Jeff Skinner (upper-body) – reevaluated on Monday
• Elias Lindholm (foot) – day-to-day
• Patrick Dwyer (lower-body) – day-to-day

Preseason Team Stats:
[table id=28 /]

Preseason Team Leaders (only players remaining on training camp roster):
[table id=29 /]