The Carolina Hurricanes lost their 2015-16 opener to the Nashville Predators 2-1 but may have suffered an even bigger loss when Defenseman James Wisniewski went down with a serious knee injury 47 seconds into his first season with the Carolina Hurricanes. His estimated recovery time is six months.
The Carolina Hurricanes came into this season looking to improve on last season's goal scoring average which was third worst in the league but were only able to score a goal late in the third period by Captain Eric Staal on an assist by Justin Faulk. The Hurricanes gave up both Nashville goals in the first period as they caught a bad break when Ron Hainsey had to discard his broken stick and the puck shot by Nashville Predator Craig Smith appeared to go off Hainsey's skate blade shortly thereafter. The Hurricanes were also shaky with the puck in their own zone and Cam Ward had to make several difficult saves.
Rookie Defenseman and top draft pick Noah Hanifin made his NHL debut and logged 18 minutes of playing time and zero on the Power Play and only five seconds of time on the short handed unit. The loss of Wisniewski may push Hanifin into more playing time especially on the Hurricanes special teams.
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