For the last regular season game this season, the Canes played on home ice in front of a sold-out crowd. It didn’t feel like that long ago when Carolina sat outside of the playoffs, looking to find its identity, but now the team is rolling, winning seven of its last 10.
The Hurricanes (49-22-7) kept the Blue Jackets (26-40-12) off the scoresheet for the first time this season en route to a 3-0 win. Goaltender Frederik Andersen earned his third shutout since coming back from injury. The Dane was unbeatable, putting in another solid performance in front of the Caniacs.
Left wing Teuvo Teravainen had himself a night including a power play assist and the night’s third goal. Teravainen is fifth on the team in terms of points and within the top eight goal-scorers, while averaging the least amount of ice time per game.
Rebounding off a disappointing last season, Tervainen has already scored 13 more points and 10 more goals. He’s by no means one of the loudest personalities on or off the ice, but through his game you can tell how hard he works and how much skill he possesses.
Along with centers Martin Necas and Evgeny Kuznetsov, Teravainen’s line tonight was exceptional. All three of them are excellent playmakers and seem to always find a way to get the puck to each other. That line didn’t combine for a goal but did everything right offensively besides finding the net.
Unlike the previous two games, the Hurricanes got off to a hot start when 17 seconds in, right wing Andrei Svechnikov fired a wrister past Blue Jackets netminder Malcolm Subban. It was a tough night for Subban who was making his Blue Jacket debut when Svechnikov ended his 10-game goal drought on the first shot of the game.
Special teams were another big factor in the Hurricanes getting an important two points. Carolina drew three penalties inside the first seven minutes of the second period but it was its lone power play opportunity in the first period that netted it a goal.
Seventeen seconds into the man advantage, Teravainen passed the puck to center Jake Guentzel in the bumper position. Guentzel then got a pass to center Sebastian Aho who got just enough to beat Subban. The goal marks Aho’s 11th power-play goal of the year and ties center Seth Jarvis for the team lead.
The most impressive part of this whole sequence was what Guentzel did to set up Aho for the second goal of the game. In one fluid motion, Guentzel received the pass off his skate and put the puck right on Aho’s tape. If Guentzel’s skills haven’t already been put on display enough, just wait until the playoffs when there is less space to work with and he is still able to score goals and find teammates.
In the past five games, the forward has nine points and has solidified his spot on the top line next to Aho. With Aho’s style of play drawing comparisons to the likes of Penguins center Sidney Crosby, it’s no surprise these two have found instant chemistry.
In each of the three periods, the Canes notched 11+ shots on goal and held Columbus to single digits. All night Carolina’s aggressive approach to defending the blue line stifled the scoring chances of the Blue Jackets, a big reason Andersen earned a shutout.
The final goal of the night came in the third courtesy of Teravainen. Drifting into the slot, Teravainen made use of a Columbus player screening Subban and wrist a shot high to the glove side to increase the lead to three.
The Hurricanes close out another great regular season on the road, starting with a game in Boston against the Bruins. Looking to avenge a 4-1 loss less than a week ago, the Canes will try to clinch the season series against the Bruins on Tuesday, April 9, at 7 p.m.
