The Carolina Hurricanes failed to pull off a win at Nationwide Arena after falling to the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 in overtime. Although highlighted by left wing Max Pacioretty’s two goals to keep Carolina in the running, Columbus right wing Kirill Marchenko’s hat trick was the driving force that pushed the Blue Jackets to their 12th win of the season.
“It wasn’t our game,” said defenseman Brady Skjei. “We didn’t play the way we needed to play for the whole 60 minutes. … Just didn’t have quite our A-game. Obviously, nice to get a point, but I think we could’ve had a little better effort and a better result.”
The Hurricanes (25-8-7) came in as clear favorites over the Blue Jackets (12-24-2) — Carolina’s position atop the Metro division and Columbus’ spot at eighth place didn’t bode for a particularly competitive inner-conference match. But, that just goes to show how one player’s performance can turn a game from dull to explosive.
Marchenko, the 22-year-old rookie from Russia, is owed some serious props after his performance in Columbus on Saturday afternoon. Responsible for each of the Blue Jackets’ goals in regulation, Marchenko carried a blazing-hot team on his shoulders to force overtime and ultimately snag another win.
Carolina’s performance was sleepy all around, with the exception of Pacioretty and Skjei. Following a scoreless first period, it was Pacioretty who put the Hurricanes on the board after Columbus produced two goals in the second frame. It was his first with Carolina — the 34-year-old returned to competition on Thursday, Jan. 5 after taking several months off due to a torn Achilles tendon.
“That’s what he can do, right,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “He’s got a great shot, so good for him to get on the board and hopefully have many more of those.”
Skjei also produced an incredible shot to tie up the game six minutes after Pacioretty’s initial point. In his eighth goal of the season — only one away from tying his season-best — Skjei sent a bullet past Columbus goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, who ended up saving 39 of 42 shots on goal.
Goaltender Antti Raanta’s performance wasn’t the best, either. Filling in for fellow netminder Pyotr Kochetkov, who’s hit a bit of a slump following two straight losses, Raanta performed well in the shootout but saved merely 15 of 18 shots on goal from the Blue Jackets, a considerably low number for the seasoned goalie.
Both Skjei’s goal and Pacioretty’s second were scored on the man advantage, a good sign for a team previously ranked considerably low when it came to power play goals. That being said, play on both sides of the ice was lackluster in Saturday afternoon’s match, and Carolina may need to reevaluate its defensive priorities before Tuesday’s primetime match against the New Jersey Devils.
“At the end of the day, we didn’t kill the penalties very well,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “We had a pretty solid game in some areas, special teams wasn’t great. Even though we got two power play goals, we got fortunate, really.”
The Hurricanes will return to Raleigh on Tuesday, Jan. 10 to face the Devils. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
