RALEIGH, NC – Jason Karmanos, Executive Vice President and Assistant General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced the team’s 2012 exhibition schedule.

The Hurricanes will open the preseason at Columbus on Wednesday, Sept. 26, at 7 p.m., as they play the first of five games in five days. Carolina will next face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m., at the Amway Center in Orlando, FL, before hosting the Nashville Predators at PNC Arena on Friday, Sept. 28. After a game at Nashville on Sept. 29, the Hurricanes will round out their five-games-in-five-days run at home with a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee against Tampa Bay on Sept. 30. Carolina will face the Montreal Canadiens at the Pepsi Collisee in Quebec City, Que., on Oct. 2, and wraps up a back-to-back set against the Canadiens at the Bell Centre on Oct. 3. The Hurricanes wrap up their eight-game preseason schedule at PNC Arena on Oct. 5 against the Blue Jackets.