For the Carolina Hurricanes, it was a reminder that their injury issues on defense will not be easily forgotten, and how far they have to go before the season starts.

Peters, the Hurricanes' 20-year-old rookie goalie, stopped the first 10 shots he faced in a 7-3 loss to the Nashville Predators before faltering in the face of a seven-goal barrage. It was only slightly slowed by a patchwork defense that didn't include a single member of the Hurricanes' purported top six.

"I thought he did play well early and they got to us in the third period," Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette said. "There were some breakdowns and I thought there were a couple he'd like to have back. But he's a young kid and he's come to camp and impressed people.

"We had a lot of guys missing from our lineup right now, and he went out there and battled. And the guys who were in our lineup tonight battled. It was a 2-1 hockey game going into the third period."

But it didn't stay that way for long. The Predators and Canes traded goals before Nashville scored goal after goal after goal after goal, four of them in less than three minutes midway through the third period.

By the time the Predators scored their seventh goal, the final strike of the four-goal flurry, Kevyn Adams was lingering in the crease to give Peters a hug and a pep talk.

"I just told him to hang in there and keep battling," Adams said. "They had some back-doors and we were giving them some quality chances. We weren't helping him out there and I didn't want him to think he had to do anything different. He was playing fine."

An accomplished junior goalie who made a cameo start last preseason in a 5-4 shootout win over the Atlanta Thrashers, Peters is in line to be the Hurricanes' goalie-on-call in Albany (AHL) after Craig Kowalski and Kevin Nastiuk were sent down Saturday.

The ink on his first pro contract is barely dry, but his NHL education is under way.

"Obviously, I'd like to have a couple back," said Peters, who stopped both Nashville attempts in the practice shootout after the game. "I just didn't get any bounces there. It was a tough third period."

Anton Babchuk, Ryan Bayda and Justin Williams scored for Carolina, Babchuk's goal coming short-handed on one of eight Nashville power plays, but the Predators fielded a stronger lineup -- missing only four players from their likely Opening Night roster.

That group included Paul Kariya, Jason Arnott, J.P. Dumont, Martin Erat, Steve Sullivan and Josef Vasicek, who continued to pound away on his former teammates with his second goal in as many nights against Carolina.

The Hurricanes, meanwhile, were without Frantisek Kaberle, as they will be for the majority of the season. But they also lacked Glen Wesley, Bret Hedican, Niclas Wallin, Mike Commodore, David Tanabe, Oleg Tverdovsky and Andrew Hutchinson, some of whom will play tonight at the Columbus Blue Jackets and all of whom will be needed this season.

Coming off Friday's 5-4 loss to the Predators, the Hurricanes have allowed 12 goals in two preseason games.

"There's no question that some of our players who were here last year didn't put forth a very good effort," Laviolette said. "Some of them did. It will get addressed and we'll move on."

Peters will be moving on as well. It was no doubt his only opportunity of the preseason, with John Grahame expected to start tonight and Cam Ward and Grahame certain to split the final two games next weekend.

But there will be other chances for him in the years to come, his future as bright as ever even after a dark night in the net.

"The only way to get better prepared is experience," Peters said. "Tonight was an experience."