The battle for jobs with the Canes begins

RALEIGH -- Defenseman Niclas Wallin has played in 457 games, regular-season and playoffs, in his seven years with the Carolina Hurricanes.

With the Canes set for their first preseason exhibition game, tonight against Washington, Wallin is intent on making sure there will be a No. 458.

Even for a veteran like Wallin, nothing is assured. Players must earn their spots, he said, and that begins in preseason games.

"For a young kid, these games are important," Wallin said Tuesday. "It's at a different level. The game is a little faster.

"But for an older guy, it's also important. You want to get the feel of the game -- some timing, that kind of stuff. But there's competition. You have to show the coaches, even if you're an accomplished player."

At 33, Wallin is an accomplished player who helped the Canes win the Stanley Cup in 2006. In 66 games last season, he was second on the team in hits (134) and third in blocked shots.

Wallin will play tonight with Joe Corvo. It's a defensive combination Canes coach Peter Laviolette could stick with come the regular season.

But another defensive pairing tonight will be Casey Borer and Brett Carson. Two young guys. Two guys who played most of last season for the Albany River Rats, the Canes' minor league affiliate, but are looking to move up.

A lot attention tonight could be focused on a pair of young forwards, Brandon Sutter and Drayson Bowman. And, of course, on two older forwards -- former Canes star Jeff O'Neill, who will center a line, and Dan LaCouture, who starred Sunday with two goals and an assist in the Red-White scrimmage.

But Wallin knows the coaches and management types also should will have a keen eye on Borer and Carson. Borer, 23, played 11 games for Carolina last season as a call-up and made an impression.

"Casey came up and played real well," Wallin said. "I don't think he deserved to get sent down, but that's how it is. With the young guys we have here, you have to keep your head up. But that's the way it should be."

One defenseman who will not play is Anton Babchuk. A sprained knee suffered in the Red-White scrimmage could sideline him for at least a week.

The Capitals surged past the Canes to win the Southeast Division last season. The last time the Caps were in the RBC Center, they left with a 3-2 shootout win.

"It's never too early to make a statement," Canes forward Wade Brookbank said. "They took a playoff spot from us, and we haven't forgotten it."

But Laviolette said tonight's matchup, the first of six exhibition games, is more about evaluation.

"You can go through all these [practice] drills and someone looks like a million bucks, and then you get in a game and maybe it doesn't translate," he said. "Conversely, someone who is a checking player or smart player who brings something different that may not necessarily show up, in a game situation has an opportunity to show what they can do."

That could be Borer. Or Wallin.

"I'm happy to be back in this room," Wallin of the Canes' locker room, which no longer has such veterans as Glen Wesley and Bret Hedican, defensemen who retired after last season. "We have a core of key guys and a lot of good, young talent. There are spots open, spots to fight for."

For the young and the old.