Carolina’s young prospects defied the odds in a shootout thriller against Florida's veteran roster, fueled by their top line's talent and Cayden Primeau’s clutch saves.
The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Florida Panthers 3-2 in a shootout Tuesday night in their second game of the preseason.
It was once again essentially the Hurricanes prospects versus the actual Florida Panthers, but the results were a lot better than Sunday's matchup.
After the game, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour along with Bradly Nadeau, Cayden Primeau and Charlie Cerrato spoke with the media. Here's what they had to say:
Rod Brind'Amour
On the way the Cerrato, Nadeau, Unger Sorum line handled themselves: You have to be a little careful about [saying they were holding their own] against NHL competition because I don't know that they were pushing it, but it's that talent, for sure. Their line was good because early we were a little bit overwhelmed and then Nades getting that goal at least got our feet wet a little bit and got us kind of in the game. But I think shift after shift, they were pretty solid.
On Felix Unger Sorum's poise with the puck: That's what you noticed when he showed up three years ago. He had that in his first training camp. Now, he's getting a little stronger, which you knew was going to happen. When you're a teenager, you come into the league and you're not a man yet, and he's still not there. Like, he still is just going to get stronger, but now you see him actually holding onto pucks and able to absorb hits and that's the progression. The smarts have been there and they're going to, I think, continue.
On Bradly Nadeau: He's noticeable and he's a threat. We all know that when it gets on his stick, he can rip it. I always talk about, 'What do you do?' You have to have something you can hang your hat on. We know what this guy can do. He can score and he can shoot pucks. I think he's also trying to add more to that. He's also becoming a playmaker He's rounding out here and again, he's still a young kid, for me, whose still, I think, a couple years away from being the player that he's going to be.
On Charlie Cerrato: He improved from last game and that's what you want to see. You're not putting all these expectations on these kids, but you're wanting to see improvement and you certainly saw that tonight.
On the willingness to get to the front of the net: It's not just young guys, it's anybody sometimes. You have to get there and that's how [Nadeau] scored his goal. That's how we drew a couple of penalties. We were at the net and they hauled us down. That's the game. That's something that you add though. [Nadeau] has added it to his game, getting in on the forecheck, being heavy on the forecheck. That's something he's added to his game. He's getting better.
On Cayden Primeau: We put him in and then he had the breakaway right off the bat. Every time we had a little breakdown, he made a big save. In overtime there, giving up 2-on-1s. It's not the way you draw it up, but that's what goaltending does for you. That was kind of the perfect way to sum up goaltending. The game's going and we needed some saves at the right time and he did it.
On evaluating the defense: Some guys have only played one game. You have to give them more than that and that's where the shortened preseason hurts probably some of those guys because it's not really a fair assessment. Coming off a whole summer and then that's your first game. That's going to be the tough decisions there, for sure. Because right now, we have two spots kind of up for grabs if you will. We're gonna have to wait a couple more games before we obviously make any decisions.
On Charlie Cerrato calling the game fun: I'm glad he's having fun. He better be. This is going to be a long career if he doesn't. But I'm glad he had that response. He should. He played a good game. He knew it. It's fun when you're playing well. So I'm glad he had that answer.
On the team's mindset: It's quiet because they're young kids and they're playing against the Florida Panthers and they know. Everybody knows. There's Barkov out there and he's blowing by everybody and it's just survival mode when he's on the ice. But they did. We survived it. I think that's why they're feeling pretty good right now and they should.
Bradly Nadeau
On his game: I think just getting to those spots and getting those scoring chances has been good so far in these two games. Just have to make sure I keep doing it if I get another chance here in those other games coming up.
On Cayden Primeau: He was really good. Obviously it's hard for a goalie to come into the middle of a game like that, but he shut the door and he's a big part of why we won.
On his shootout goal: Was just trying to get the big guy in their net moving. Kind of faked it and then tried to beat him quick to the post and it worked.
On his showing so far this preseason: I think it's been a good effort so far. I think there's always more to proven though, so we'll keep working hard and if we get those chances make sure we capitalize on them.
On having success while facing an NHL roster: Obviously it means a lot. You watch them growing up and stuff and then the next thing you know, you're playing against them in overtime. It's just preseason, but it's always good to get games against those guys. It helps build confidence, especially when you have success like that. It's fun to play against those guys and hopefully I'll be able to play more against those guys in the future.
On his line's success: We're all willing to do the work and either be at the net or get to those open areas. I think that's why we've been clicking and hopefully down the stretch we'll keep having success.
Cayden Primeau
On the shootout: Just trying to be big and whatever happens happens. It's nice to pull out the win though.
On his game: I felt good. Obviously things to work on. Sloppy at points, but overall good to get the rust out from the summer. But overall felt good. Like I said, a few things could be better, management decisions, but other than that felt good and it was good to get playing again.
On coming into a game cold: It's pretty hard. You're sitting there watching the game, but you gotta do whatever and be ready for whenever your name is called. As TV timeouts you're going back and stretching and doing whatever you can to be ready.
Charlie Cerrato
On the evaluation of his game so far: I think it's been pretty good. Obviously it being my first preseason, coming in and playing Florida, I mean, it was an incredible experience. I knew there was going to be ups and downs as a new young guy too, so I just wanted to have fun, take all the negatives as a positive and use it to get better.
On needing to keep the foot on the gas the whole time: Exactly. I mean, nothing is going to be perfect, everything is new. Obviously first year in the system, learning all the stuff and learning how to do it the right way and play an NHL style of game is a lot different, honestly, and it's a big learning experience. But the one thing you can control is your effort and your compete. Roddy always says, 'Quick shifts, move your feet, work hard, hit and get off the ice and good things will happen.'"
On learning on the fly: We knew being a bunch of young guys going out there against an awesome team, a bunch of guys that won back-to-back Cups, that it was going to be tough and that's what you want to see. Nothing's going to be perfect, but as long as you get better in the first, second, third and from the first to the second game too. I think we did that and obviously getting a win tonight was a lot of fun.
On the game: I think just adapting, playing the right way. Like once you get to the NHL, you realize how much the little things matter and in a game like that, playing in their end as much as possible and working your butt off getting to the net and doing the simple things. I think as a team, we did that really well and obviously guys stepped up and put the puck into the back of the net.
On the difference in his line's performance between Sunday and Tuesday: Moving our feet. Like, getting in on the forecheck was huge. I feel like we created a lot of chances off of turnovers in the offensive zone, especially off the forecheck. Like personally, I feel like I can do a lot better on faceoffs to help my line and us getting more zone time is a big part of that. But it's obviously something I'll take going forward and keep getting better on.
On getting a call in OT: Obviously there's very little room on the ice, especially against that team, so I just tried to focus on moving my feet, making a good move. I feel like I was moving my feet pretty good tonight, so getting a call at the end was good. Obviously the 4-on-3 didn't go as we wanted it, but I thought it was a good play and a fantastic finish in the shootout.
On his linemates: [Unger Sorum] is incredible. You always have to have your stick on the ice and be ready for the puck. His vision is unbelievable, like [Nadeau's] shot is so good. So you can tell why those two had so much success last year.
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