Hurricanes 2, Predators 0

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -Ray Whitney and Eric Staal both scored to lift the Carolina Hurricanes to a 2-0 win over the Nashville Predators on Sunday in the final preseason game for both teams.

Whitney gave Carolina a 1-0 lead with 12:41 left after he got to a rebound of Patrick Eaves' shot in the slot and sent the puck past Dan Ellis, who stopped 26 of 27 shots.

Staal added an empty-net goal with 4 seconds remaining to seal the victory. He did the same thing in the Hurricanes' previous game against Nashville on Thursday.

Carolina's Cam Ward stopped all 31 shots he faced for his first shutout of the preseason. Nashville was 0-of-5 on the power play, and Carolina was 0-3.

The Hurricanes outshot Nashville 37-31, including a 17-8 advantage in the final period.

Carolina, which won its final three exhibition games, will open the regular season on Friday at home against the Florida Panthers. Nashville will play at St. Louis on Friday to start the season.

Hurricanes captain Rod BrindAmour made his first appearance of the preseason after recovering from a knee injury that ended last season early.

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