Brought aboard in the first successful offer sheet that the hockey world has seen since 2007, #82 wasted little time making his presence felt by fans at PNC Arena. On the team's first power play opportunity of the evening, Kotkaniemi deposited a slick feed from down low courtesy of Vincent Trocheck.
The same unit struck on their second power play chance as well, this time Kotkaniemi and fellow fresh face Tony DeAngelo setting up Teuvo Teravainen for a laser from the glove-side circle to put the team ahead 2-0. Coming with just under three minutes to go in the first period, there was an early sense of excitement coming from Kotkaniemi's debut.
"It was a lot of fun out there," Kotkaniemi shared when addressing the media post-game for the first time as a member of the club. "We have a lot of great guys in the room, so it was a blast. But the first game is only the first game."
The two special teams tallies in the first alone would've been enough to secure a victory, however the teams traded goals in the opening four minutes of the second period to bring the game to its eventual 3-1 final.
Jack Drury, who was playing his first game of any kind at the NHL level, made the lead a trio for the 'Canes, but the lone blemish on Frederik Andersen's night came just 65 seconds later when Alex Barre-Boulet shook loose in the slot.
PLUS/MINUS:
Plus: Frederik Andersen
There may not have been numerous highlight reel saves from the man known as "Freddie" during his first outing in a Canes sweater, but he was solid and reliable throughout, stopping 36 of 37 over the course of the evening's action.
"He looked pretty good. Was the plan to have him play all 60? Yeah, I think," Head Coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "Going into this we were going to give him two starts [out of the four preseason contests] and a 'we'll see how it goes sort of thing'."
Plus: Jamieson Rees & Jack Drury
As the game went on the line of Jamieson Rees, Jack Drury and Stefan Noesen became more and more noticeable for the team. With all three attempting to showcase what they could provide to the lineup, the connection of Rees and Drury hooked up for a stellar third goal for the club.
Following a zone entry along the wall, Rees danced a Lightning defender, then displayed patience and poise before hitting a streaking Drury along the far post for an easy tap-in.
"Me and [Jameison Rees] have been here for a few weeks now, going back to the prospects camp and [Stefan Noesen] slid in nicely," Drury said. "I think getting to play for a couple weeks before today helped nicely."
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
"It was a lot of fun. Going out for warmups felt really cool, the music was blasting, having fans in the crowd was really cool and I think we all just had a lot of fun today." - Jack Drury
That's what we like to do around here, Jack.
UP NEXT:
The same two teams will meet in Tampa Friday night at 7 p.m.
NEXT HOME PRESEASON GAME:
Tuesday, October 5 vs. Nashville - 7 p.m.
