The Carolina Hurricanes traveled to Columbus, Ohio for a weeknight showdown, now winning six of their past eight games. Carolina got up quickly in the second period after a slow start and didn’t take its foot off the gas, defeating the Blue Jackets 4-2.
Columbus (19-30-10) sits at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division while the Canes (36-18-6) sit comfortably in second place behind the Rangers. These two teams met earlier this season on Nov. 26, when the red-and-black squeezed out a 3-2 win. This time, Carolina brought its offensive power all over the ice to secure a dominant win.
The first frame started slow for both teams. Defenseman Brady Skjei tried to get momentum going early for Carolina, rattling off two shots on goal within seconds of each other, but it was not enough to get past Columbus’ netminder Daniil Tarasov. At the end of the first 20 minutes of play, the score was tied at zero, and neither side had over seven shots on goal.
After an uneventful first period, the second period quickly added some entertainment to the night. Less than one minute into the period, left wing Teuvo Teravainen fired a wrist shot past Tarasov to put the Canes up 1-0. Columbus tried its best to get on the board — firing off four missed shot attempts in a row — two minutes after Carolina sounded the goal horn.
It wasn’t enough to stop the buzzing Hurricanes though. Center Sebastian Aho tore down the ice and scored his 23rd goal of the season. Assisted by Skjei and defenseman Brent Pesce, Aho shot a pass over to teammate and right wing Andrei Svechnikov, but the puck bounced off a Blue Jacket player and slipped right into the net. With some help from Columbus, the Canes were suddenly up 2-0 with over 10 minutes left in the period.
Up 17 shots to Columbus’s nine, it seemed like Carolina was the only team on the scorecard for a while, but center Cole Sillinger had other plans. Less than a minute after Aho’s goal, Sillinger was in on a three-on-one skating down the Carolina zone and sniped the puck past Carolina goaltender Spencer Martin. Quickly cutting the score to 2-1, it was time for the Canes to get some momentum back on its bench.
Skjei once again was the glue holding the energy in place for Carolina, scoring the team’s next goal with around three minutes left in the second period. Heading down the zone in a tough one-on-one battle against defenseman Ivan Provorov, Skjei got the puck in perfect position to poke it past Tarasov’s legs. The one-handed goal brought the Hurricanes up 3-1 heading into the third period.
Despite being one of the best penalty killing teams in the NHL, Carolina gave up a power play goal during the third period. With a minute left on a tripping penalty on left wing Jordan Martinook, the Blue Jackets played the puck in the Carolina zone and snuck the rubber past Martin. Left wing Alexander Nylander was credited with the goal — the first of his NHL career.
Still, up 3-2, the Canes battled hard to secure the win, shooting 13 shots to Columbus’ eight by the end of the period. Center Seth Jarvis got the last goal of the game with an empty netter and brought the final score to 4-2.
Looking to keep the win streak going, the Canes come back to Raleigh to take on the Winnipeg Jets. The matchup will take place Saturday, March 2, with a puck drop scheduled for 12:30 p.m.
