Preseason Recap: Canes Punish Preds In Exhibition Finale

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Carolina Hurricanes wrapped up their preseason slate in style on Saturday, cruising past the Nashville Predators, 6-0.

GAME SUMMARY | BOX SCORE | PRESEASON STATS | BUY TICKETS

After utilizing the first three exhibition contests to showcase their young and upcoming talent, most of Carolina's Stanley Cup-winning roster was back in action for the first time since June. Displaying no signs of rust early on, Rod Brind'Amour's group struck three times in the opening 13:29, quickly cementing themselves as the dominant team.

Jackson Blake opened the scoring on the man advantage just beyond the five-minute mark, Jordan Martinook completed a slick sequence from linemates Jordan Staal and Nikolaj Ehlers, and then Ehlers took one to the house himself to close out a near-spotless start.

Continuing to flex their muscles in the second period, Logan Stankoven potted his third goal in two games, and his insurance was supplemented by a pair of power-play goals in the third from Mark Jankowski and Andrei Svechnikov.

Making his second tune-up start, Brandon Bussi was perfect for all 60 minutes, turning away all 22 shots faced.

Stats & Standouts

• Going back to the team's thrilling five-goal comeback on Thursday in Greensboro, today's half-dozen goals mean Carolina ended their exhibition schedule with 11 unanswered goals. Talk about hitting your stride going into the real thing.
• There were two standout names on Carolina's roster today: Charles Alexis Legault and Felix Unger Sorum. Legault has been one of the horses jockeying for one of the team's final spots on the blue line, and skated alongside Shayne Gostisbehere at five-on-five today. In competition with Mike Reilly and Juuso Valimaki, Legault finished with a game-high four blocked shots in 17:45 of work. As for Unger Sorum, he too got a dress rehearsal in a big spot, rounding out a trio with Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov. Chipping in with the primary assist on Mark Jankowski's third-period goal, the 21-year-old left a positive final position as he tries to stick around in Raleigh.
• Carolina's penalty kill went a perfect four-for-four in the contest. Finishing 11th among all 32 teams last season, it was "a down year" by their standards. Since Rod Brind'Amour took over as head coach (2018-19), Carolina's 84.3% success rate on the penalty kill is the best among all clubs during that time.

They Said It...

Rod Brind'Amour reflecting on the preseason as a whole after the win..

"Well, first, I'm always asking, 'Is everyone healthy?' We could be 4-0 or 0-4 in preseason; no one cares now. It's all about game one. Obviously, we've got the one injury we knew about, Jarvy, but you're just trying to get through (preseason healthy). I thought tonight was okay. We played fine. There's room to still get better, but I think our guys got the rust off, and they'll feel good about where their game is at going into opening night."

Rod Brind'Amour discussing special teams, which went 3/4 on the power play and 4/4 shorthanded...

"I don't read a lot into it. There's a lot of room to still be better, obviously. Everything just kind of went in tonight. That's awesome. I'd love to see that continue. It's a process. The guys came to camp in shape. I knew they would. They had a short summer. Getting through that, preseason is hard. We just went from the highest of highs to now starting this out, it's like, 'Really?' We played pretty well, considering."

Rod Brind'Amour when asked about Felix Unger Sorum...

"This is where it gets tough. We have to make these decisions, and we'll see what happens. We have a day to figure it out, and you'll know soon enough."

What's Next?

The Canes are scheduled to be off on Sunday and practice on Monday. They'll kick off the NHL's regular season on Tuesday at 5 p.m. when they meet the Florida Panthers at Lenovo Center.

Next Game: Saturday, Sept. 29 vs. Florida | 5:00 p.m. ET | ESPN