Hurricanes 2-0 in preseason, beating Tampa Bay again

Observations from the Carolina Hurricanes’ 6-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday at PNC Arena in the second preseason game:

-- Was the pressure already on Scott Darling? Not in preseason, but goalie Petr Mrazek did perform well Tuesday in his first outing for the Canes, stopping all nine shots against a veteran Tampa Bay lineup in the Canes’ 4-1 win at Amalie Arena.

It was Darling’s net Wednesday for half the game and he did his part, making 16 saves before leaving midway through the second period for Callum Booth. The Lightning came inches from scoring in the first, the puck getting through Darling, but he recovered quick enough to collect the puck near the goal line and steadied as the period wore on.

“Other than the one little, almost-mishap there, he looked like he was in control,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Good start for him.”

Darling said he “felt good, felt confident.” Noting he left without allowing a goal, Darling smiled and said, “That’s rare for me, so that was a good feeling.”

-- Martin Necas should be a fun player to watch. The Canes’ center has a quick first step and instant acceleration, and impressive playmaking skills.

Playing Wednesday with Teuvo Teravainen and Warren Foegele, Necas scored a second-period goal on a redirection of a Justin Faulk shot and set up Teravainen and Foegele for scoring chances with well-placed passes.

Necas was lean 18-year-old a year ago and sent back to his native Czech Republic for further development in the top Czech league. Necas said he came to Canes camp last September at 176 pounds. At 6-2 and 192 pounds, he’s noticeably bigger in the arms and shoulders and growing into his body.

“I can see he’s stronger than last year and that’s good,” Teravainen said. “He’s a pretty creative player.”

-- Important game for Janne Kuokkanen, Foegele and Saku Maenalanen and they didn’t disappoint.

Kuokkanen really stood out with a goal and two assists. The Finn played on a line with Jordan Staal and Justin Williams, scoring on a first-period power play off a perfect setup pass from Williams, one of three assists for the captain.

He later earned a power-play assist as Micheal Ferland followed up the long rebound of a Kuokkanen shot and another on Jaccob Slavin’s power-play goal for the 6-1 lead.

Canes fans remember Foegele scoring in his NHL debut late last season after being called up from Charlotte and the AHL. He could find a place on the Canes roster with his hustle and energy. He’s good on the penalty kill and a shorthanded threat.

Maenalanen, signed as a free agent in May out of the Finnish elite league, is a big man who can skate and showed some feistiness in the game. He’s playing in North America for the first time, with adjustments to be made.

“He’s pretty tough to play against,” Teravainen said. “When he gets his confidence and the systems and stuff, and it’s a new game for him, it will be good.”

-- Brind’Amour has said not to read too much into his defensive pairings in training camp, but Jaccob Slavin and Dougie Hamilton could be forming the Canes’ top pair.

Hamilton, who scored in the second period on a bullet from the right circle, appears so smooth on the ice and uses his long reach well.

-- Canes owner Tom Dundon was on hand before the game as team personnel collected donated items for the Hurricane Florence Relief Drive. Dundon, while interacting with fans, said he didn’t expect much slippage in the Canes’ game Wednesday.

Brind’Amour called the start “not very good, to put it bluntly,” but liked the result. “The wins are nice but it’s the way you’ve got to play,” he said. “I liked the way we kept on it, kept on it. We didn’t back down.”

-- Nice to see Victor Rask in good spirits as the Swedish center, out indefinitely after hand surgery, watched the game with some of his Canes teammates from the press level.

Rask said he sliced into his right hand cutting sweet potatoes. Jokingly told he probably needed to stay out of the kitchen, Rask said he had hired someone to do the cooking for him.

This story was originally published September 19, 2018 at 9:34 PM with the headline "Hurricanes 2-0 in preseason, beating Tampa Bay again."