A wild finish in Greensboro
The Carolina Hurricanes produced one of the most dramatic comebacks of camp in the early hours of Friday. Down 5-1 to the Nashville Predators, they ripped off five unanswered goals to win 6-5 in a preseason game in Greensboro, North Carolina, a building that once housed the franchise in its earliest days in the late 1990s before their current arena opened in Raleigh.
Logan Stankoven sparked the rally with a brace. Jesperi Kotkaniemi added a goal and an assist, before Juha Jaaska and Juuso Valimaki dragged the game level. The winner came from Felix Unger Sorum, who fired home a sharp wrist shot with just three seconds left.
Nashville had controlled much of the contest. The Predators were still well in command heading into the third period, before the entire game flipped on its head in a matter of minutes.
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Kochetkov tested, the defence under pressure
Between the pipes, Pyotr Kochetkov made 23 saves from 28 shots. The Russian goaltender looked “a little rusty at times”, which is hardly a shock at this stage of preseason, when defensive habits are still being sharpened. The Predators, strong for two periods, eventually folded under the Hurricanes’ pressure.
The win leaves Carolina with two victories from three preseason outings. They finish their warm-up schedule on Saturday, away in Nashville, before the regular season begins. It gives Rod Brind’Amour one last chance to fine-tune his roster before the final cuts.
A proper dress rehearsal before October
Beyond the result, which means nothing in the standings, the game gave Rod Brind’Amour a look at how his group responds when things go wrong, including role players who will likely have limited minutes once the real stuff starts. Handy stuff, too, ahead of a season in which Carolina will once again expect to be right in the mix in the East.
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