The announced crowd of 18, 860 nearly lost it when ‘Canes captain Rod Brind’Amour scored his first of the season, the third for the ‘Canes in this game, on a power play three and a half minutes in. Frank Kaberle, still determined to make up for his earlier gaff, notched the only assist.
Radek Dvorak ruined the party with an even-strength goal at 13:10, when Ward provided a rebound that bounced right to the Florida winger.
The ‘Canes go into the third period with a 4-3 lead. Newcomer Joni Pitkanen ripped a shot past Tomas Vokoun to close out the period scoring.
The Hurricanes defense, which wasn’t a major factor in in scoring last year (Joe Corvo was the only D-man to crack the top ten, and he spent most of the season with Ottawa) is making itself known early. The ‘Canes D has six points in the game so far – one goal and five assists.
