Preseason Preview: October 5 @ Nashville

Prospects and PTOs get one last opportunity in penultimate tune-up bout

By Walt Ruff

@WaltRuff Hurricanes.com

October 05, 2023

RALEIGH, NC. - The Carolina Hurricanes open a home-and-home back-to-back set against the Nashville Predators to round out their exhibition schedule, starting Thursday in the Music City.

-

When: Thursday, October 5

Puck Drop: 8 p.m. ET

Watch: A stream to watch tonight's game is expected to be available on the homepage of Hurricanes.com around 7:30 p.m. ET.

Listen: 99.9 The Fan, Hurricanes App

Preseason Thus Far (2-2)

Tuesday, September 26: Canes newcomers produce a 5-2 victory over Tampa Bay.
Wed nesday, September 27: Three goals in 3:09 leads Carolina past Cats in Battle of the Brind'Amours
Friday, September 29: Canes drop split-squad games versus Lightning and Panthers

One Final Look

Rod Brind'Amour said following Wednesday's practice that the roster for this game would be one largely made up of prospects and tryout players, while Friday's would be more of an NHL "dress rehearsal".

In Net

Brind'Amour expressed from the onset of training camp that the plan all along was to get goaltenders Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta ramped up as preseason went along. After Yaniv Perets and Pyotr Kochetkov played the entire 60 minutes last Friday, it appears that Raanta could be in line to start Thursday.

Unger Sorum Continues To Draw Attention

18-year-old Felix Unger Sorum has captivated many through camp thus far, showcasing his skills after being selected in the second round in this summer's draft. Tallying an assist in two of his first three NHL preseason games, he posted 46 points (10g, 36a) and a +25 rating in 42 games with Leksands IF’s under-20 team last season

"Veteran" Rule

As a reminder, NHL teams must dress at least eight “veterans” in each preseason contest. “Veterans” are skaters who played 30 NHL games the previous season, goalies who dressed in 50 NHL games or played in 30 NHL games the previous year, any player who has played 100+ NHL games, or a current year first-round pick.

Turning up the intensity 📈 pic.twitter.com/Lr82NBMsuN
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) October 4, 2023

Injury Updates

Forward Vasily Ponomarev will "miss some time" due to a knee injury suffered on the first day of training camp (9/22), per Rod Brind'Amour.
Forward Andrei Svechnikov remains skating in a no-contact jersey as he makes his way back from ACL surgery in March.