Hurricanes 4, Jets 0

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Time Warner Cable Arena isn’t the home of the Carolina Hurricanes, but many in the red and white felt at home in the Canes 4-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets.

Three of Carolina’s four goals came from players who saw time in Charlotte last season – Zac Dalpe, Jerome Samson and Riley Nash, all of whom are also competing for roster spots.

Tonight might have been Dalpe’s last night on the Checkers’ home ice. Of the forwards competing for a slot up front, he has had one of the strongest camps. His goal in the first period, aggressive play and time on the first line with Eric Staal and Alexei Ponikarovsky tonight added to the success he’s had.

“I was all alone and saw a lot of net, so I decided to shoot instead of deke, and it worked out,” he said. “It was a great day.”

“It’s something I’ve been playing with for awhile in my mind, and I wanted to get a look at it,” Canes head coach Paul Maurice said of adding Dalpe to the first line in the second period, a combination that could be seen in future games.

Nash, who scored late in the second period and recorded an assist on Jay Harrison’s first period goal, will probably not start the season on the Canes’ roster. But according to Maurice, he’s positioning himself as a top call-up.

“If you’re looking for a most improved award over the course of the year, [Jeff] Daniels did a great job with [Nash],” Maurice said. “He has gotten better and stronger in all of these games. I liked him a lot.”

Anthony Stewart registered an assist tonight and was plus-one, also attracting the compliments of Maurice.

“I liked Stewart’s game a lot tonight. I thought it was his best,” Maurice said. “He made some real good decisions in our end and then showed his size and speed on the forecheck.”

Despite missing time at the beginning of training camp due to a minor upper body injury, Cam Ward appeared to be in mid-season form. He made 36 saves in his shutout effort, and credits his workouts on the ice prior to training camp to keeping him ready.

“It was a little bump in the road,” Ward said of his injury. “The first time I got on the ice after that, I felt really comfortable. We can really build on that performance from tonight.

“It was just a solid game by our team. It was a fun atmosphere,” Ward said. “Credit to the Charlotte fans for the atmosphere they created tonight, and it made it a fun game. It’s nice to put a win in the column and feel good.”

Ryan Murphy continues to make a case for himself, as he put in another strong performance that saw him actively jumping into the play, manning the point on the power play and nearly netting a goal.

“Going in, I would have said forward is where all the competition is,” Maurice said. “I’m not sure that at the end of camp, we won’t say that all the competition is on the back-end. That’s a positive thing.”

Notes: Maurice said there were “some improvements in a lot of the areas of our game. It was definitely better than the other night, and we needed it to be.” … Murphy and Faulk will play again in Winnipeg, though Maurice mentioned the need to get Derek Joslin and Bryan Allen in the lineup.