The Carolina Hurricanes will open their preseason schedule on Monday, September 22, by hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning at Lenovo Center. The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. ET. Fans in Raleigh and Tampa markets can watch the game via a geo-restricted stream on Hurricanes.com or listen on 99.9 The Fan and the Hurricanes App.
According to NHL rules, teams must include at least eight veterans in each preseason contest. A veteran is defined as a skater who played 30 NHL games last season, a goalie who dressed in 50 games or played in 30, any player with over 100 NHL games, or a current year first-round pick.
Six players are set to make their debut for the Hurricanes during this game, including defenseman Joel Nystrom, who participated in last week’s Prospects Showcase but will be playing his first NHL preseason match. Other newcomers include training camp tryouts Givani Smith, Oliver Kylington, Kevin Labanc, summer acquisition Cayden Primeau, and free agent signing Gavin Bayreuther.
Ten players in tonight’s lineup were acquired through the draft. Among them is Bradly Nadeau, entering his second professional season after becoming only the fourth teenager in American Hockey League history to score more than 30 goals in a season.
Goaltenders Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov will not play. This provides an opportunity for fans to see Cayden Primeau and possibly Ruslan Khazheyev. Primeau was acquired from Montreal on June 30 and signed to a one-year contract on July 1. Last season with Laval Rocket of the AHL, he posted a 21-2-3 record with a goals-against average of 1.96 and save percentage of .927 across 26 games. He and teammate Connor Hughes won the Harry Holmes Award for best goaltending duo in the AHL in 2025. Primeau is also the son of former Hurricanes captain Keith Primeau.
Ruslan Khazheyev is preparing for his second pro season in North America after playing 20 games with the Chicago Wolves last year.
On injuries, defenseman Jaccob Slavin has yet to skate during training camp due to a minor injury and may miss all preseason games according to head coach Rod Brind’Amour’s comments on September 21. Defenseman Jalen Chatfield also missed recent practices due to injury and may not appear during preseason matches either. Forward Juha Jaaska is day-to-day with what has been described as a minor injury since September 21.
Throughout the preseason at home, Carolina will wear new white uniforms.
After Monday’s game against Tampa Bay, the Hurricanes have their first off day of training camp Tuesday before returning Wednesday for another home matchup against the Florida Panthers at Lenovo Center. General admission tickets remain available for $10.
Fans attending opening night on October 9 will receive a Strutting Stormy hat as part of an event giveaway.
