Canes eye playoff clincher against desperate Blue Jackets. Key matchups and projected lineups revealed for this crucial Eastern Conference clash.
What - Game 75 (47-21-6)
When - 7 p.m., Thursday, April 2
Where - Lenovo Center; Raleigh, NC
How to Watch - FanDuel Sports Network South
The Carolina Hurricanes will finish off their season series with the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight in Raleigh.
It will be the second straight game between the two clubs, as they both played Tuesday in Columbus, with Carolina winning 5-2.
With a win, the Canes can clinch an eighth consecutive playoff berth with seven games still to go in the regular season.
Columbus is barely clinging onto the final wild card spot in the East and so desperately need to win with four teams right on their tail.
Streaks
- Sebastian Aho (3a) has points in three straight games.
- Andrei Svechnikov (2g, 1a) has goals in back-to-back games.
Milestone Watch
- Jordan Staal will play in his 1,400th career regular season game tonight.
- Taylor Hall is one goal shy of 300 career goals.
- Sean Walker is two assists away from 100 career assists.
- Sebastian Aho is two assists away from 400 career assists.
Game Notes
- Carolina is 2-1-0 against Columbus this season.
- Seth Jarvis (6g, 16pts in 15gp) is a point-per-game player for his career against the Blue Jackets.
Key Matchups
Projected Starting Goalies
- Frederik Andersen: 13-13-5; 0.871 Sv%; 3.16 GAA
- Elvis Merzlikins: 14-10-3; 0.886 Sv%; 3.34 GAA
Leading Scorers
- Goals - Seth Jarvis (30) / Kirill Marchenko (26)
- Points - Sebastian Aho (75) / Zach Werenski (78)
Power Play
- Carolina - 24.6% (5th)
- Columbus - 19.9% (19th)
Penalty Kill
- Carolina - 80.5% (12th)
- Columbus - 76.4% (26th)
Hurricanes Projected Lineup
Andrei Svechnikov - Sebastian Aho - Seth Jarvis
Taylor Hall - Logan Stankoven - Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers - Jordan Staal - Jordan Martinook
William Carrier - Mark Jankowski - Eric Robinson
Jaccob Slavin - Jalen Chatfield
K'Andre Miller - Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere - Alexander Nikishin
Frederik Andersen
Brandon Bussi
Injuries and Scratches: Mike Reilly, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Nicolas Deslauriers, Pyotr Kochetkov (hip)
Blue Jackets Projected Lineup
Mason Marchment - Adam Fantilli - Kirill Marchenko
Boone Jenner - Sean Monahan - Conor Garland
Cole Sillinger - Charlie Coyle - Miles Wood
Danton Heinen - Kent Johnson - Luca Del Bel Belluz
Zach Werenski - Dante Fabbro
Egor Zamula - Ivan Provorov
Denton Mateychuk - Erik Gudbranson
Elvis Merzlikins
Jet Greaves
Injuries and Scratches: Jake Christiansen, Isac Lundestrom (undisclosed), Mathieu Olivier (UBI), Damon Severson (UBI), Brendan Smith (knee), Dmitri Voronkov (UBI)
Stay updated with the most interesting Carolina Hurricanes stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News to never miss a story.