HURRICANE JORGE:

Carolina equipment manager Jorge Alves played the last 7.6 seconds of the Hurricanes' 3-1 loss Saturday night to the Tampa Bay Lightning after signing a professional tryout contract to be the backup goalie in place of Eddie Lack, who is ill.

"It's special, it's unbelievable," said Alves, who didn't face a shot. "It's still pretty emotional for me. Yeah, amazing. I just remember looking down the ice and seeing the puck in the corner, and saying, 'Stay in that corner.'"

Alves, 37, has been one of Carolina's full-time equipment managers since the 2012-13 season and practices with the team on a regular basis. He had several short stints in the ECHL and Southern Professional Hockey League.

"I think it was a special night, it's a night he'll never forget," Carolina coach Bill Peters said. "A perfect storm of opportunity for him. It couldn't happen to a better guy."

The Hurricanes had Alves lead the team onto the ice for warmups, letting him skate around the Carolina zone in his No. 40 jersey by himself before joining him. [...]

Carolina, on its Twitter account, showed Alves sharpening skates and taping a stick while in uniform during the game.

"Can't shake the habit," Alves said with a smile. "I have a duty to the team."

Tweet   @brothersjudd