RALEIGH, N.C. – Goals from Felix Unger Sorum, Ryan Suzuki, Brendan Lemieux and Bradly Nadeau brought a sold-out Lenovo Center crowd to its feet, but the Hurricanes ultimately fell 6-4 to a veteran-laden Nashville Predators lineup in Wednesday’s Community Preseason Game.

GAME SUMMARY | BOX SCORE | TRAINING CAMP GROUPS | PRESEASON SCHEDULE

Three goals in the first 10:07 put the Preds ahead in the first, but Unger Sorum responded with a highlight-reel marker shortly after to get the Canes on the board. With Steven Stamkos on his hip, the 19-year-old powered his way to the front of the net and tucked a shot into the far-side top corner for his first of the preseason.

Following another late Nashville strike in the first, Suzuki’s goal restored some momentum for Carolina in the second period as the 2019 first-rounder sent a centering pass off the stick of Scott Wedgewood, off the body of Dante Fabbro and into the back of the net.

A pair of Jonathan Marchessault tallies extended the visitors’ lead in the final frame, but the Canes showed fight late. Unger Sorum picked up his second point of the night on Lemieux’s strike, setting up the veteran in the slot for Carolina’s third of the evening at 8:07 of the third. Nadeau then joined the fray in the waning moments of action, wiring a one-timer past Wedgewood on the power play at 19:38.

Canes netminder Yaniv Perets finished with 26 saves on 32 shots, including a penalty shot denial in the opening stanza.

With Steven Stamkos reaching from his hip, no less.

Nice! pic.twitter.com/9RMRPwLyF0

— Walt Ruff (@WaltRuff) October 2, 2024

Additional Observations…

• The young guns were firing tonight, despite the result. The slow start hurt, for sure, but three points for Felix Unger Sorum, a goal apiece for Bradly Nadeau and Ryan Suzuki plus another all-around standout showing from Jackson Blake provide plenty of positives for the group as preseason gets close to its finish line.
• The Canes dominated the special teams battle, going 1/2 on the power play and a perfect 4/4 on the penalty kill with a relatively inexperienced group against a loaded NHL power-play unit, a “positive” Rod Brind’Amour took pride in during his postgame media availability.
• After showing his willingness to spark his team with a fight during the Prospects Showcase in Nashville last month, it was great to see Charles-Alexis Legault step up once again in an effort to bring his team back into the battle on Wednesday night.
• Take a bow, Caniacs – a sold-out crowd for a preseason game AND close to $300,000 raised for hurricane relief in our state and the surrounding areas goes to show how special this community is. Keep an eye out for more information on how Hurricanes fans can continue assisting our neighbors in need.

What a night! Thank you for showing up BIG, #Canes fans. We're just getting started pic.twitter.com/s8Ru146sXq

— Canes Give Back (@CanesGiveBack) October 3, 2024

They Said It…

Rod Brind’Amour taking a moment to discuss the organization raising nearly $300,000 for Hurricane Helene efforts…

“(The money raised) was the most important thing coming out of tonight. Everybody coming together [was nice]. Anything can help. [Playing hockey] is just having fun, (those impacted by the Hurricane) are dealing with real stuff. Anything we can do to help is great.”

Brind’Amour on the contest…

“Overall, as a group, it was a tough start. You saw a lot of resiliency in some guys… We battled hard all night. We were overmatched, clearly, but I think we hung in there. You take the small positives. There were a few guys that hung in there better than the others and showed well.”

Bradly Nadeau after the loss…

“It was a hard battle. Obviously, we had a lot of younger guys and we battled. The last two periods we played more of how we need to play. We didn’t win the game, but there were a lot of positives [to take away from it].

We're in this together, North Carolina ❤️ pic.twitter.com/sEGBKzoHZD

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) October 2, 2024

What’s Next?

The Canes are scheduled to return to practice on Thursday, still working in two groups.

Next Game: Friday, October 4 vs. Tampa | Tickets | Parking