Notebook: Down To The Nitty Gritty

RALEIGH, NC. -Since the first on-ice session of the team's training camp back on September 22, the Canes had been split into two groups, each taking the ice at separate times.
However, following Tuesday's preseason finale in Buffalo and the subsequent 17 roster moves that transpired Wednesday and Thursday, the whole unit has been compact into one session, getting down to business in the days leading up to their regular season opener.

"Our Schedule Is Pretty Open..."

After being one of the last teams to begin their exhibition schedule on September 27, the Canes became one of the first to finish their shortened, five-game slate earlier this week. To be exact, 28 teams played at least one preseason game before Carolina's inaugural tune-up against Tampa Bay, and 28 teams will play at least one preseason game after the reigning Metropolitan Division champions finished their run Tuesday in Buffalo.
Giving them a full seven days in between game action, the layoff is longer than most teams have.
Is that a good thing? Is it a bad thing? Does it matter?
"I think I like it because it gets you time to really dial in. You get good practices, good discussion and all of that time with the players, but I know obviously we worry about being up to game speed," Canes Head Coach Rod Brind'Amour said of the break.
"We want to cross our t's and dot our i's so that way there's no gaps in anything when we get going," he continued. "Repetition is the way to hammer things home and we want to make sure that we have covered everything that we have needed to."
The hour-long skates at Invisalign Arena are certainly providing that time for the crew to get their business in order, but Brind'Amour also said that if it were up to him, training camp wouldn't be so long.
"I think they need one (preseason) game, then go play [regular season contests]. They come in in shape, they come in ready to go, so I do worry. We've been doing this (training camp) for two or three weeks now and I think we could've played three or four days into this. Every team... It is a little bit of a concern."

Getting Back To 100%

Perhaps a portion of why Brind'Amour suggests that lead-up to the regular season opener is too long is because he's seen some of his players go down in recent days.
Defenseman Brett Pesce did not skate Thursday or Friday after leaving Monday's victory over Columbus with a lower-body injury. Forward Stefan Noesen was held out of Friday's skate as well.
"We certainly don't want anything lingering into the season as we get started," Brind'Amour said of the absences, labeling both as a precaution. "Anybody that has any kind of nicks, you're not going to see them out here right now."
On the positive side of things, blueliner Dylan Coghlan was able to get his bearings back under him after departing Tuesday's contest in Buffalo with a lower-body injury of his own. The first-year Hurricane was a full participant in both practices since.

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