For the first time during the 2025-26 season, the Carolina Hurricanes hit the road, battling the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second time in five days. The Bolts emerged victorious in a 2-1 decision when the teams met in Raleigh on Monday. The Canes followed it up with a 4-2 loss to the Panthers on Wednesday, despite dominating play for most of the night.
While the Canes' group featured only a few regulars, the Lightning iced their top line, as former Hart winner Nikita Kucherov, former Hurricane Jake Guentzel, and Brayden Point all dressed for the contest. Amir Miftakhov sought a better result after allowing three goals on Wednesday to Florida, while Jonas Johansson made his second appearance in as many games against the Canes.
The first period felt like The Zemgus Girgensons Show. The veteran scored twice against Miftakhov. He drove hard to the net to get his first one early in the frame before scoring his second by burying a rebound. The Canes got one back late with the help of Givani Smith. The unsigned forward on a PTO potted his first of the preseason after great work from Kevin Labanc and Ryan Suzuki.
The Canes came out with much more fight in the second period. Despite turning the tide, they weren't able to cut into the Bolts' lead. In fact, it was back to a two-goal deficit before the end of the period. In the dying seconds of a power play, Wojciech Stachowiak potted a rebound chance, earning his second point of the night, as the Lightning took a 3-1 lead into the break.
Defense was optional in the third. The Bolts made it 4-1 early, but Gleb Trikozov and Jesperi Kotkaniemi struck 50 seconds apart to cut the lead to one. When Tampa scored again, Noel Gunler had another quick response, scoring 65 seconds later. Oliver Bjorkstrand scored on the power play to restore their two-goal lead. The Canes fought, with Bradly Nadeau scoring a late goal, but fell, 6-5.
Givani Smith continues to make a strong case for a contract
Because he's on a PTO, Rod Brind'Amour is going to trot Givani Smith onto the ice as much as he can during training camp. On one hand, it prevents him from needing to play his regulars too much. On the other hand, it allows Smith to showcase his game to potentially earn an NHL deal. With his work through three games, he's moving in the right direction.
After showing his physical side in the opener on Monday, Smith's offensive game is starting to appear. He wasn't able to finish any of his chances against the Panthers, but Smith found the scoresheet twice on Friday, scoring in the first period and earning a late assist on Nadeau's goal. He's been a standout over the last week. I wouldn't mind if he stayed with the Canes.
Amir Miftakhov looked better, but the concerns persist
It was hard to call Amir Miftakhov's first appearance anything but disastrous. The coaching staff showed faith in him by trotting him back out as the starter tonight. He played the entire game, and while he allowed six goals, he looked better in his second appearance. However, better doesn't mean good.
It felt like Miktakhov was a second behind all the time. He almost made the lowlights by whiffing on a softball with his blocker. Easy saves looked a little harder than they needed to be. Miftakhov looked uncertain as to whether he had the puck on numerous occasions. It resulted in a goal in one instance. The transition back to the NHL has been rough, and it could end with him in Greensboro.
Additional Thoughts
I don't want to harp too much on the Lightning, though some of their depth guys were incredible tonight. Ironically, the only line that didn't look great was their top line of Guentzel, Point, and Kucherov. While Guentzel and Kucherov had an assist on the power play, they looked a little disjointed at times at 5-on-5. It's only the preseason, so it's probably not a reason for concern.
Nine players found the scoresheet for the Hurricanes tonight, with Nadeau, Smith, Justin Robidas, and Joel Nystrom each recording multi-point efforts. Nadeau and Smith had a goal and an assist each, while Robidas and Nystrom both had a pair of helpers. It's nice to see everyone contributing during the preseason, win or lose.
With all of the scoring, one player who surprisingly didn't was Alexander Nikishin. While the biscuit was going into the basket for him, I liked a lot of what he did in the defensive zone. Nikishin played almost 22 minutes and led all Hurricanes with four blocked shots. I have no doubts that his offensive game will be fine, but improvement in the defensive zone is what we love to see.
One thing we don't love to see is a regular getting hurt in a game that doesn't mean anything. Jesperi Kotkaniemi played another solid game, but he exited late in the third period after catching a stick up high. It wasn't anything malicious as Kotkaniemi left down the tunnel with a towel on his face. Hopefully, it won't be anything, though it'll be a story to watch over the next few days.
Up Next: The Hurricanes are back at the Lenovo Center on Sunday to play the first half of a back-to-back against the Nashville Predators. This will mark the first game against Nashville as we've hit the halfway point in the preseason. The Canes will follow it up by visiting Sunrise on Monday night to face the Panthers.