The Canes look for four in a row against a surging Blue Jackets team.
The Carolina Hurricanes return home to Raleigh after a successful Western Conference road trip.
Every game within the division is important, but tonight’s game will have a different feel than expected just a month ago.
On December 21, Columbus lost in overtime to Philadelphia. This was the Blue Jackets’ eighth loss in ten games, and they were last in the Metropolitan Division standings.
Since that game, Columbus has gone 10-3-1. The Blue Jackets had a six-game winning streak and have outscored opponents 35-23 in January.
The Hurricanes have broken through their recent string of inconsistency with a three-game winning streak and now face one of the hottest teams in the NHL.
Columbus caught fire during the perfect stretch of the schedule. During the team’s six-game winning streak, no opponent was in a playoff spot. The Blue Jackets took advantage of this weak schedule to climb into a wild card spot.
But Columbus is not just beating teams in the bottom half of the standings.
Last night, the Blue Jackets had one of their most impressive wins this season with a 5-1 road victory over Atlantic Division leaders Toronto.
Columbus has won two of three games versus Carolina this season. The Blue Jackets’ resume includes two wins over Toronto, a 4-1 road win in Winnipeg, a 6-4 road victory against Colorado, and a 6-1 win over Edmonton.
Tonight is the fourth and final game of a road trip. Before this trip, Columbus played eight of the last 11 games in Ohio. This season, the Blue Jackets are 16-5-3 at Nationwide Arena.
Fortunately for Caniacs, tonight’s game is in Raleigh. Columbus is 7-13-4 on the road this year, including a 4-1 loss to Carolina in Raleigh.
Blueliner Zach Werenski is powering the Columbus offense. His 52 points lead the team and ranks second among all NHL defensemen. Werenski has 19 points on the power play, third-most among blueliners and one point ahead of Carolina’s Shayne Gostisbehere.
The Blue Jackets defensemen have combined for 30 goals, most among all teams.
Third-year player Kirill Marchenko is having a breakout season. The right winger leads Columbus with 18 goals and is second on the team with 51 points.
Before Sean Monahan’s injury on January 7, the line of Marchenko, Monahan, and Dmitri Voronkov was Columbus’s best. That trio combined for 22 five-on-five goals while allowing just five.
Adam Fantilli moved up to the first line center spot and has taken advantage of the opportunity.
Fantilli started January on a seven-game points streak. Last night, Fantilli scored his first career hat trick and now has 11 points in his previous 10 games.
The Blue Jackets have scored 158 goals this season, the same number as the Hurricanes. However, Columbus has allowed 158 goals.
This goal differential of zero is a perfect reflection of Columbus’s special teams.
The Blue Jackets rank 10th on the power play, scoring on 23.1 percent of opportunities. During their recent hot streak, Columbus has improved on the advantage. The Jackets have scored on 17 of 54 chances, good for 31.5 percent.
On the flip side, Columbus ranks 26th in the league with a 74.8 percent success rate on the penalty kill. Since the beginning of January, the Blue Jackets have allowed six goals on 23 opportunities, a 73.9 kill percentage.
Goalie Elvis Merzlikins has a 17-11-3 record, a 2.99 goals against average, and a .893 save percentage. He started the three previous games against Carolina this season. Last night, he stopped 29 of 30 shots in the win over Toronto.
Does Merzlikins start again tonight, or will Daniil Tarasov get the nod? He has a 4-6-2 record with a 3.64 goals against average and a .872 save percentage.
Joining Monahan on the injured reserve are Yegor Chinakhov, Erik Gudbranson, and Boone Jenner.
Much like Carolina earlier in the week, Columbus will play road games on consecutive nights. Can the Hurricanes flip the script from earlier this week and earn the win with this scheduling advantage?
The Canes are streaking and back on home ice after a couple of days rest. The oddsmakers are certainly considering these factors, as Carolina is a -375 favorite.
The glaring issue for the Canes right now is the power play.
The last time the power play scored in consecutive games was December 28 and 31 against New Jersey and Columbus.
Since the beginning of January, the power play has scored just one goal in 31 opportunities. Needless to say, a conversion rate of three percent is unacceptable.
No lineup changes are expected for the Canes. (Riley Stillman filled in for Shayne Gostisbehere at the morning skate but after the skate, Brind’Amour said “Ghost” would be available game time.)
The expectation is Frederik Andersen will earn the start tonight. With Andersen’s next win, he will earn 300 career victories.
Tonight is Star Wars night, so wear your favorite “may the force be with you” outfit.
Here’s how to check out the action:
- Time: 7:00 PM ET
- Location: Lenovo Center, Raleigh, NC
- TV: FanDuel Sports Network South with Mike Maniscalco, play-by-play; Tripp Tracy, color analyst; Hanna Yates, in-game reporter; Shane Willis, analyst.
- Radio: 99.9 The Fan
- Line: ML: CAR -375; PL: CAR -1.5 -115