Hurricanes are eager to start over tonight

RALEIGH -- Opening night in the National Hockey League is all about new beginnings. A new season, with all its possibilities. New faces in the locker room. New hope.

So it will be tonight for the Carolina Hurricanes, who open the season against the Florida Panthers at the RBC Center.

The Hurricanes missed the playoffs the past two seasons, which causes veterans such as Rod Brind'Amour to burn with intensity. That the Panthers were the team that beat the Canes in the last regular-season game last season, denying Carolina a playoff spot, only adds to it.

"That rings a big bell for a lot of us," defenseman Tim Gleason said Thursday. "It's a new start, a different season and two points on the line, and there's a little revenge there, obviously.

"But we need to forget about what happened last year. This game has been a long time coming. We're rarin' to go."

To look about the Canes' locker room Thursday was to quickly grasp how much has changed since opening night last year, of how many were not in the room.

Sergei Samsonov and Tuomo Ruutu were with the Chicago Blackhawks, Joe Corvo and Patrick Eaves with the Ottawa Senators. Joni Pitkanen was with the Edmonton Oilers.

Anton Babchuk was playing in Russia. Michael Leighton was in the American Hockey League. Brandon Sutter was preparing for another year of junior hockey in Red Deer, Alberta.

As for Dan LaCouture, he was at home in Centerville, Mass., unsure what the year would bring. His hockey career, he feared, could be over at age 30.

For Samsonov, coming to the Hurricanes in early January -- claimed off waivers -- was a rebirth of sorts. In 38 games for Carolina, the winger had 14 goals and 18 assists and clearly enjoyed himself again on the ice.

"It had been a rough couple of years," he said. "You start wondering which way things are going and wondering if you'll ever get that opportunity again. Luckily, it did. Coming in, getting a fresh start, getting an opportunity, it made a whole difference for me."

Trades brought Ruutu, Corvo and Eaves to the Canes last season. Babchuk, a former Carolina defenseman, re-signed with the team in the offseason, and defenseman Josef Melichar was signed to a one-year deal.

Eaves and Corvo came to the Canes in February. Corvo in particular was relieved; the defenseman played his best hockey of the season (21 points in 23 games).

"If you had said at the beginning of last year I'd be with Carolina, I'd probably put a pretty big smile on my face," the defenseman said. "I wanted out of [Ottawa]."

Speaking of smiles, few players smile more than Pitkanen, the team's most discussed newcomer. He came to Carolina in the big offseason trade that sent Erik Cole to Edmonton and has won over his teammates with an easygoing personality and some impressive hockey skills.

"I'll be a little bit nervous, excited," Pitkanen said. "It's a good feeling to play my first game here. But I think every player feels it has been a long summer and is excited about getting started."

LaCouture will be on Sutter's line -- gritty veteran forward and 19-year-old rookie center. LaCouture played his way onto the roster in camp as an unsigned free agent. Sutter, a member of perhaps hockey's most famous family, was a first-round draft choice in 2007 but had to come to camp this year and prove he belonged.

Sutter's father, Brent, starred in the NHL and now coaches the New Jersey Devils. His uncles played. Now, Brandon will play.

"It's my first test, so it's going to be a special day," he said. "You grow up watching these games, and now you have a chance to play. That's pretty crazy."

What's crazy for LaCouture, who has played in more than 300 NHL games, was going from his couch in Centerville to a Swiss league last season, then to training camp and signing a one-year contract with the Canes.

"Time seemed to be slipping away," LaCouture said. "It was frustrating. But you never know what will happen. Here I am."

For opening night.