After opening the preseason with a tight victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, the Carolina Hurricanes played their first home game in the newly-renamed Lenovo Center against the Florida Panthers on Friday night. A last-minute goal from Aleksi Heimosalmi sealed the deal for the Canes in their 2-1 victory over the Bolts.
The Hurricanes previewed what their Opening Night roster could look like, deploying their top three forward lines, Top 6 on defense, and Frederik Andersen between the pipes. Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Dmitry Orlov were the only two players pulling double duty after playing on Tuesday. At the same time, Jack Roslovic, William Carrier, and Sean Walker skated in their new threads for the first time.
In the first period, the Hurricanes looked almost how we all expected them to. For most of these guys, they were playing their first meaningful hockey in months. Things were connecting crisply as the new-look Hurricanes tried to find their identity. It was the fourth line that opened the scoring for the Canes. Josiah Slavin, the younger brother of All-Star defenseman Jaccob Slavin, deposited a rebound past Spencer Knight for the lone marker of the period.
We were treated to a much better second period as the Hurricanes found their groove. Naturally, the top line led the charge. Seth Jarvis dangled through and around the Panthers' defense to add to the lead early in the frame. Sean Walker labeled a one-timer on the power play to officially open the floodgates midway through the period. Walker added an assist shortly after as Jarvis picked up his second goal with a redirection.
Late in the period, the captain joined the party, receiving a pass from William Carrier and finishing it. The lone mistake in the middle frame was a Jalen Chatfield tripping penalty that Florida converted in eight seconds on an Oliver Okuliar tip. Jack Roslovic returned the favor in the final minute of the period, snapping a shot from the left dot past Knight to convert in 12 seconds for the team's second power-play goal. Behind a five-goal period, the Canes carried a 6-1 lead into the intermission.
The Panthers tried to begin a comeback after AJ Greer redirected another shot past Frederik Andersen, but four goals was as close as it got. William Carrier joined the scoring fun by being the benefactor of a preseason review after his wrap chance hit Tobias Bjornfot's skate and trickled over the goal line. Andrei Svechnikov capped it off by picking the corner to make it 8-2, where things stood after the final horn.
Friday's results should be taken with a grain of salt after Florida sent an AHL-caliber lineup to Raleigh. Still, in a game the Hurricanes should've easily dominated, they did just that. Only three skaters failed to find the scoresheet, with seven players recording multi-point games. Ice time was evenly distributed throughout the group, allowing everyone their chance to shine.
The new guys fit right in with what the Hurricanes are trying to do. Jack Roslovic found easy chemistry with Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis. He almost set Aho up for a goal early in the contest, had several more chances of his own to score, and finally did so on the power play. William Carrier showcased both skill and sandpaper, recording a goal, an assist, and seven hits next to Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook. Sean Walker led the team with three points, earning them all in the second period.
With the Hurricanes up big after two periods, I thought we might see Ruslan Khazheyev relieve Frederik Andersen, but Rod Brind'Amour opted to ride with Andersen for the full 60 minutes. Andersen didn't have much to do for most of the night. He only faced 17 shots, being beaten on two deflections. After Pyotr Kochetkov's stellar performance against the Lightning, it's nice to see both goalies performing well early in the preseason.
Up Next: We might be treated to a different result on Saturday night as a young Hurricanes team will travel to Sunrise to face a veteran Panthers squad. It'll likely be Spencer Martin or Yaniv Perets against what is likely to be a similar team that won the Stanley Cup in June. Regardless of the result, it'll be fun to watch the future of the Hurricanes against a juggernaut of a team in the present.