If the final game of the NHL preseason serves as a dress rehearsal, Friday night was a good sign for the Carolina Hurricanes. The Canes wrapped up the exhibition season in fine fashion with a 3-1 win over the Washington Capitals in a game the team controlled from start to finish.
Carolina (5-2-0) was the clear superior team in this one, outshooting Washington (1-5-0) 32-16. The Canes got goals from defensemen Justin Faulk, Trevor van Riemsdyk and Noah Hanifin, and goaltender Scott Darling stopped 18 of 19 Capitals shots.
“There was some good things,” head coach Bill Peters said. “I thought it was a little sloppy both ways at times. I thought we looked a little tired; execution wise we weren’t sharp. But when it mattered, we dug in and didn’t give up much in the third period. We closed the game out the way you’re supposed to close the game out when you enter the third period with a lead. We’ve done that throughout the preseason, so that’s good; that’s a good sign.”
Making his home preseason debut, Darling came up with a nice point-blank pad stop on Capitals forward Andre Burakovsky about six minutes in to keep it scoreless. The 6-foot-6 netminder was not tested much in this one, but was there when called upon.
“Just mentally staying sharp, not letting your mind wander so you really stay in tune to the game,” Darling said. “You try and play the puck as much as you can to stay engaged and get more and more used to it as we go.”
The Canes grabbed a 1-0 lead a little over halfway through the first, as defenseman Justin Faulk let a wrister go from the point that found its way through a screen from forward Brock McGinn and past Capitals goalie Philipp Grubauer.
“Not necessarily saying we’re comfortable, but we’re happy with how it went and we are thinking that we’re ready for the start of the regular season,” Faulk said. “I think the record is one thing; it’s all a wash come October 7. We’re feeling pretty good, and I think with this week of practice coming in we can shore some things that we need to work on.”
The Capitals wasted little time tying things up in the second; defenseman Matt Niskanen trailed the play in the slot, took a pass of the boards from forward Devante Smith-Pelly and beat Darling stick side to make it 1-1.
The Canes struck back with a power-play marker barely two minutes later, as defenseman Noah Hanifin collected his own rebound along the goal line and chipped it past Grubauer’s pad for a 2-1 Carolina lead.
Carolina went up by a pair a little over five minutes into the third, with defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk surprising Grubauer with a sharp-angle shot from the side boards to make it 3-1.
“I think that was just pretty fortunate,” van Riemsdyk said. “I was just throwing it to the net and I think it took a nice little deflection and went in there. Just trying to show pucks at the net, and sometimes you get a lucky break. I knew we had guys driving there, and it found its way in.”
The Canes will open the regular season at PNC Arena against the Minnesota Wild Saturday, Oct. 7.
