Nadeau powers the Hurricanes to their first win of the preseason over the Predators

The Carolina Hurricanes finished the home slate of their preseason on Sunday by welcoming their third and final opponent, the Nashville Predators, to the Lenovo Center. The team remains winless during camp, losing on Friday night in an exciting 6-5 tilt with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Canes dressed a half-and-half squad of veterans and rookies, including our first looks at Jordan Staal, Jordan Martinook, and Sean Walker. The Predators went a bit younger after icing many regulars for their 4-1 loss to the Bolts on Saturday night. Cayden Primeau earned his second look of the preseason for the Canes, while Justus Annunen stood in Nashville's crease.

There were early fireworks for both sides. Daniel Carr broke the seal first, potting a rebound that trickled through Primeau to get it started. Just 39 seconds later, Eric Robinson found Felix Unger Sorum on a 2-on-1 for an easy tap-in to tie it. Logan Stankoven appeared to get the Canes another goal, but it was quickly waived off for a high stick, keeping it 1-1, where it stood after 20 minutes.

Bradly Nadeau helped put the Canes in front with his second of the preseason. On the power play, Jackson Blake drew Annunen to him before finding Nadeau for an easy one-timer into an empty net. Nadeau liked scoring so much that he did it again late in the third. Pressure behind the net forced a turnover, allowing Stankoven to find Nadeau in the slot for his second of the night.

The Predators quickly responded to Nadeau's second goal, drawing back within one on a world-class snipe by Reid Schaefer. However, the Canes didn't let that one-goal lead stand for long. The Staal line earned a transition chance that was eventually finished by Charles-Alexis Legault. For the first time this preseason, the Canes surrounded their goalie, celebrating a 4-2 victory.

Bradly Nadeau is making it very hard on the coaches

Hands down, the first star of the night for the Hurricanes was Bradly Nadeau, who continues to make a push for a roster spot despite it seeming like things were pretty locked up. Nadeau scored twice in the win, including the eventual game-winner in the third period. He scored in different ways, showcasing his one-timer on the power play and a nasty wrister in the slot.

It wasn't just the scoring that caught my attention. His decision-making has improved since his bad turnover in the preseason opener, which led to a goal. He is playing decent defense, too, chasing down plays to disrupt his opponents. While I still think he's very likely to start the season in Chicago, Nadeau is making it hard for the coaches to cut him.

Cayden Primeau stands tall and gets rewarded

Of the two goalies in tonight's game, Cayden Primeau wasn't tested nearly as much, but he looked very good when called into action. The first goal he allowed was a tough one because the initial chance leaked through, but Primeau shut it down from there, allowing just one more goal over the next 53 minutes.

This start follows another great effort against the Lightning last week, proving that he should be in a great spot to start for the Wolves this season. With Pyotr Kochetkov yet to make an appearance this preseason, I'm very interested to see how that situation develops. If something is wrong, I'm confident Primeau can step in.

Additional Thoughts

This game had a familiar feeling to Wednesday's game against Florida, with the Hurricanes controlling a good portion of it. While they lost that night, they conquered the Predators tonight. They outshot Nashville 38-20 in the game, and it felt every bit like it, too. It's nice to see them finally get in the win column for their effort.

Jackson Blake stood out again tonight. I'd say he's more than ready for the season to begin. He finished the night with four shots on goal, second only to Nadeau, and recorded his first two points of the preseason on each of Nadeau's goals. I wouldn't mind seeing a line of Svechnikov-Stankoven-Blake to begin the regular season, with how well Stankoven and Blake meshed.

Lastly, Kevin Labanc made another lasting impact on this game, but not by finding the scoresheet, the first time that has happened in four games. Tonight, he took exception to an Oasiz Wiesblatt hit on Tyson Jost, forcing Labanc to take action. He dropped the gloves with the rookie in a spirited bout for both players. He looked tired by the end, but it was nice to see him sticking up for his guys.

Up Next: The Carolina Hurricanes are back at it on Monday night, completing a back-to-back against the Florida Panthers. The Hurricanes lost to the Panthers last Wednesday night, blowing a 2-0 lead in the third period. They won't play again until their preseason finale next Saturday against Nashville, which means we'll likely see many roster moves during the four days in between.