Preds "Outworked" in Preseason Loss to Hurricanes

Ryan Johansen scored the lone Nashville goal as the Predators fell to the Carolina Hurricanes by a 4-1 final on Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena.
It's the third consecutive defeat in the preseason for the Preds after sweeping a doubleheader in Florida to start their exhibition schedule. Nashville had their chances as they game went on, including 15 shots in the third period, but that late charge wasn't much of a consolation.
"We got completely outworked," Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. "The speed of the game, too, they were playing in fourth and fifth gear, and we were stuck in mud. It's never going to look good, and the results usually aren't going to go your way. We were too slow and not competitive enough."

Carolina scored once in the first and added another in the second to hold a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes, and they tallied two more in the third before Johansen got Nashville on the board with less than seven minutes to play in the contest.
Preds goaltender Pekka Rinne made 38 saves on the night while facing six power-play opportunities, with No. 35's play standing as one of the bright spots in the loss.

"[Carolina] came out really hard and made it challenging for us," Nashville defenseman Dan Hamhuis said. "They gave us no space and time out there, so full credit to them. But it's good to go through [tough situations] like that for our team. It's going to make us better."
The Predators are now down to their final preseason outing, a road matchup in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Sunday afternoon against these same Hurricanes. It'll be about as close to a dress rehearsal as possible with the regular season right around the corner.
Of course, the Preds would prefer to end the exhibition slate with a victory, but they say a better effort will still go a long way.

"The last two times we've played in our building here, it's been really unacceptable, the work that we're putting in," Laviolette said. "That's got to change."
"The good thing is it's a time to teach, a time to learn," Johansen said. "We did some good things and some bad things, and it's just about taking it day by day and setting ourselves up to be ready for the first [regular-season] game."

Notes:
Roman Josi, P.K. Subban, Ryan Hartman, Craig Smith, Calle Jarnkrok and Colin Blackwell did not dress for the Predators on Tuesday night.
Viktor Arvidsson led the team with five shots on goal, and he collected an assist on Johansen's tally, along with Filip Forsberg.
Nashville concludes their preseason schedule on Sunday afternoon in Carolina with a 12:30 p.m. (CT) puck drop. The Predators will then return to town to prepare for their 2018-19 season opener, which comes Thursday, Oct. 4 in New York City against the Rangers.