Recap: Canes Top Lightning Again

For the second night in a row, the Carolina Hurricanes bested the Tampa Bay Lightning in preseason action, this time by a score of 6-1.
Twelve different skaters recorded a point for the Hurricanes. Janne Kuokkanen led the offensive charge with a goal and two assists, while Justin Williams tallied a trio of helpers.
Here are five takeaways from tonight's preseason rematch.

One
This is what this game was supposed to be. The Hurricanes dressed a more veteran squad than Tuesday, and Tampa Bay dressed a much younger team. The Canes' veterans should have had the edge, and they did.
"They were working hard. Bubble guys are giving it everything they got to try to make the team," goaltender Scott Darling said. "We picked it up, and I thought we had a real good second half of the game."
The group that played in Tuesday's game set the bar high. The group that played tonight set it higher.
"They set the tone, and we wanted to follow it up," defenseman Dougie Hamilton said. "Preseason is important. You have to get ready for the season. The start of the season is really important. We want to get a good feel and good rhythm and get rolling off the start."
Asked what he liked about the game, head coach Rod Brind'Amour replied, simply, "The score." It's just the preseason, but winning sure beats the alternative, right?
"You want to set the tone. The wins are nice, but it's the way you've got to play," he said. "I liked how we just kept on it and kept on it. We didn't back down."

Two
A pair of newcomers found the back of the net for the Canes tonight. Hamilton was the first, as his slap shot from the top of the near circle beat Martin Ouellette through traffic, a goal that gave the Canes a 2-0 lead.
"It's always nice to win and contribute, so hopefully we didn't waste them," Hamilton joked.
"He's one of those guys we're going to rely on, big time," Brind'Amour said. "I love the way he thinks the game and sees it. You can just see when he's out there, especially in power-play situations, he knows where the puck has to go. So far, it's been real positive."
In the third period, Micheal Ferland banged home a rebound off a well-placed shot from Kuokkanen to give the Canes a 4-1 advantage.
"Actually, no. I was trying to score," Kuokkanen said with a smile. "It was a lucky bounce today. I'll take it."
Three
Speaking of Kuokkanen, the 20-year-old Finnish forward is aiming to make the team out of camp for the second year in a row. He played in four games with the Canes in October 2017 before being assigned to Charlotte. Could he stick around this season?
"He's just a youngster, but he doesn't look like that," Brind'Amour said. "If you give him any time and space, he'll make plays, too. The talent level has definitely increased here in the organization."

Kuokkanen's goal got the fun started for the Canes tonight. In the first period, Justin Williams banked a pass off the boards to himself as he skated into the zone. He then slipped a pass through a couple defending sticks to Kuokkanen for the easy tap-in, power-play tally.
"I just tried to skate backdoor. Willy got a good pass," Kuokkanen said. "I had an easy shot to score."
Four
Another youngster, Martin Necas, also tallied a goal. In the second period, he positioned himself in the slot to get a stick on Justin Faulk's shot from the point, giving the Hurricanes a 3-0 lead.
"Real talented. He handled himself really well," Brind'Amour said. "When you give him time and space, he's going to make plays."
Making plays was a theme of the night. With time and space in the slot, Julien Gauthier's quick shot made it a 5-1 game late in the third. Then, in the waning minutes of the game, Jaccob Slavin's point shot bounced around to the back of the net, and it was a 6-1 final.
Five
Darling exited tonight's game just past the midway point as planned, and he finished the night with 16 saves on 16 shots.
"It's just good to get on the ice and get into real game-like situations, facing power plays and rush chances. It's good to be back out there with the guys," Darling said. "That's why you work hard in the summer. Now it's time to put it to work. It was a lot of fun to be out there."
"I liked Darls," Brind'Amour said. "He looked like he was very in control. That's great. That's what we expect. I thought it was a good start for him."
Up Next
The Hurricanes will host the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals on Friday night.