Canes drop preseason opener

On Friday night, in front of a sparse crowd, the Hurricanes lost their preseason opener 4-2 to the Nashville Predators.  While some of the stars sat this one out, Eric Staal, Erik Cole, Tuomo Ruutu, Ray Whitney and Cam Ward were among the Canes regulars who suited up for the exhibition.  All reports indicate that some of these guys were in season form while some of the younger guys were definitely not.  Erik Cole scored the first goal of the game on the power play late in the first period.  The Canes had a woeful time on the power play, converting only one of seven opportunities.