Preseason Preview: September 20 at Florida

SUNRISE, Fla. - The Carolina Hurricanes kick off their four-game set of tune-ups on Sunday, taking on the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena.

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When: Sunday, Sept. 20

Puck Drop: 6:00 p.m. ET

Watch: Hurricanes.com (In-Market), ESPN+ (Out of Market)

Listen: 99.9 The Fan, Hurricanes App

Preseason Playing Roster Changes...

• Taking a youthful roster to Florida, the Canes are taking advantage of a change to the league's rules in the CBA.
• The new rule states that a club shall dress a minimum of eight (8) veterans for any exhibition game. A veteran shall constitute:
  • (1) any Player who has played one hundred (100) or more career NHL Games
  • (2) any Player who has played four hundred (400) or more career games in the NHL and/or AHL
  • (3) a forward or defenseman who played in thirty (30) NHL Games during the previous season
  • (4) a goaltender who either dressed in fifty (50) or more NHL Games or played in thirty (30) or more NHL Games in the previous season
  • (5) a first-round draft choice from any of the five (5) previous years’ NHL Drafts, and/or
  • (6) a second-round draft choice from any of the three (3) previous years’ NHL Drafts.
• With just four preseason games instead of the previous six, Rod Brind'Amour and staff will have to be tactical in how they deploy their veterans between today and Saturday.

Competition On The Blue Line...

• As long as Alexander Nikishin remains without a contract, the Canes will have at least two open spots on their blue line. With a mix of veterans (P.O. Joseph, Mike Reilly, and Juuso Valimaki) and young talent (Charles Alexis Legault and Joel Nystrom) seemingly in the mix, tonight will feature four of those five.
• Thus far in camp, Reilly, who played 42 regular season games and two postseason contests for Carolina last year, has been working alongside Shayne Gostisbehere.

Fresh Faces...

• Six skaters are slated to appear in their first NHL contests as Hurricanes. Charlie Cerrato, Filip Ekberg, Noel Fransen, Zachary Lansard, Viktor Neuchev and Juuso Valimaki will suit up in Sunrise, eager to make an early impression with the big club.
• At just 18 years old, the youngest of those is Lansard, who was selected by the Canes in the third round of this summer's NHL Draft. After posting 56 points in 68 games with the Regina Pats (WHL) last season, Lansard lit the lamp during last week's Prospect Showcase.
• “It’s been great. It’s something I’ve been looking forward to and working toward for the last few months," he said of his experience with the organization thus far. "Getting here and just trying to take everything in, from how guys treat each other and everything else, I want to take it back to Regina and kind of be a leader there. I’m just trying to take everything in, have a smile on my face, and enjoy the week here.”

In Net...

• Tonight will feature one or both of Pyotr Kochetkov and Zachary Sawchenko between the pipes for Carolina.
• Kochetkov begins what he hopes will be a bounce-back campaign after being limited to just nine games at the NHL level last season. After undergoing a pair of surgeries, the Russian backstop's last action came in a pair of games with the Chicago Wolves on April 10 and 12 before serving as Brandon Bussi's backup for a handful of games during the Stanley Cup Final.
• Sawchenko, meanwhile, rejoined Carolina as a free agent after spending the last two campaigns with Columbus' AHL affiliate and the prior season with Vancouver's. During his previous run with the Canes' organization, the 28-year-old started 41 games for the Chicago Wolves during the 2022-23 slate, where he fittingly worked alongside – you guessed it – Pyotr Kochetkov.

Injury Updates

• Forward Seth Jarvis is practicing in a yellow, no-contact jersey after offseason shoulder surgery. He was initially scheduled to miss "probably four to six months" from the end of June.

What Are We Wearing?

• The Canes are scheduled to wear their white uniforms for all four preseason games.

What's Next After This Game?

• The Canes are set to practice on Monday. They'll play their second exhibition contest on Tuesday at Lenovo Center against these same Florida Panthers.
• Next Preseason Game: Tuesday, Sept. 22 vs. Florida | 7:00 p.m. ET | Hurricanes.com