A strong start by the Carolina Hurricanes was not enough to secure a win against the Florida Panthers, who scored three goals in the final four minutes of Wednesday’s preseason game in Raleigh. The Hurricanes lost 4-2 after leading for most of the contest.
Ryan Suzuki opened the scoring for Carolina midway through the first period with a deflection off Mike Reilly’s shot. At the same time, Givani Smith engaged in a fight with Ben Harpur, energizing the home crowd. Jesperi Kotkaniemi added another goal six minutes later on an assist from Andrei Svechnikov.
Despite firing 49 shots on goal, Carolina only managed to beat Florida goaltender Daniil Tarasov twice. Tarasov made 47 saves and helped keep his team close until their late rally. Frederik Andersen stopped all eight shots he faced for Carolina before Amir Miftakhov took over in net and allowed three goals on seven shots.
Five players—Nikolaj Ehlers, Amir Miftakhov, Mike Reilly, Ivan Ryabkin, and Dominik Badinka—made their preseason debuts for the Hurricanes. Reilly assisted on Suzuki’s goal and logged significant ice time.
Bradly Nadeau played alongside Svechnikov and Kotkaniemi, taking four shots and recording four hits. Givani Smith continued to bring physicality with his second fight in as many games while on a professional tryout contract.
Reflecting on his first appearance with Carolina, Nikolaj Ehlers said: “I liked the way that we played in the first two periods. We put a lot of pressure on them and gave them nothing. I’ve played against this team enough to know that that’s the identity of this team, and we did that for 40 minutes.”
Ehlers also commented on playing with Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis: “You want to lay a foundation in practice, but ultimately, it’s the games that you find that chemistry, and you learn how to play with each other. I think we did a lot of good things today, but also a lot of shifts where nothing was happening at all. That’s also part of playing in the NHL. We’ve got some work to do.”
Sebastian Aho addressed the team’s performance: “Brutal third period, but at least we got the lesson on how not to play hockey in the third period. Obviously, this time of year, it doesn’t really matter, but the good thing is we can get some clips and some talking points out of the third period. We had plenty of chances to put the game away…”
Head coach Rod Brind’Amour spoke about losing after controlling much of the game: “It sucks to play a game like that and lose. But there’s a reason we lost, too. We could’ve walked out of that game and won 5-2, and still didn’t have a very good segment in there. Now, it’s obvious, so we can hammer home the point a little more. It’s great that that game doesn’t count.”
Brind’Amour also acknowledged fan support during community initiatives: “I think it’s really important… The fan base and the Hurricanes, we have a great relationship. Anything we can do to show our appreciation is special, so I’m glad that we do it.”
The Hurricanes will return to practice Thursday before traveling for their next preseason matchup against Tampa Bay at Benchmark International Arena on Friday night.
The next home game is scheduled for Sunday against Nashville at 7 p.m., followed by opening night festivities including giveaways when hockey returns to Raleigh on October 9.
