Canes Drop Preseason Split-Squad Set

FLORIDA - For the first time in organization history, the Carolina Hurricanes played a pair of exhibition contests on the same day Friday.  However, they were unable to claim a victory against either the Florida Panthers or Tampa Bay Lightning.

Kochetkov Solid, Bunting Everywhere Against Cats

The first of two games on the evening, the Canes took a younger and less-experienced roster to Sunrise to take on the Panthers. Florida countered with a youthful lineup of their own and a scoreless first half of the contest led to both Pyotr Kochetkov and the opposing Anthony Stolarz emerging as early storylines.

As the game progressed penalties ramped up and special teams played a big factor in the final 40 minutes.

Florida was able to break the ice in the final few minutes of the second period and then doubled their lead just 2:29 after the intermission via Steven Lorentz on a shorthanded breakaway.

But similar to Tuesday's contest, the Canes had an answer within just seconds.

Michael Bunting, who was physical throughout but did take two trips to the penalty box, tapped home a power play goal 33 seconds later to cut the Panthers' lead back down to one.

That score would hold until the final stages of the game, again, thanks to more quality work from Kochetkov and Stolarz.

But just seconds after a six-on-four opportunity came to a close for Carolina, Dmitry Orlov put one on a platter for Brendan Perlini to even the game with just 1:59 on the clock.

And as the flashbacks of an overtime game against the Cats began, they were quickly wiped away thanks to a response from the home side. Gerry Mayhew was able to put his team back in front 24 seconds later, serving as the game-winning goal.

Florida would add an empty netter, closing out the 4-2 result.

Johansson Shuts Out Canes In Lightning Debut

244 miles to the west of Amerant Bank Arena, Sebastian Aho, Jordan Staal, and Martin Necas were called upon to make their preseason debut against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

An early gaffe by Carolina in their own end allowed Anthony Cirelli to beat Yaniv Perets and that's all that the Bolts would've needed.

A sluggish start as a whole for the more veteran group put them behind the eight ball and a special teams goal in the second doubled Tampa Bay's lead.

The Canes had a strong push in the third, outshooting a younger Lightning team 34-20 over the final 40 minutes, but in the end goalie Jonas Johansson was the star of the show. Making his debut with Tampa Bay just over 24 hours after it was announced that star netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy would miss at least two months due to back surgery, the 28-year-old took his moment and ran with it, picking up a 42-save shutout.

What's Next After Tonight?

• The Canes will have a full off day on Saturday before returning to practice on Sunday.

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