The Jackets are in Carolina to take on the Hurricanes at PNC Arena.
The Carolina Hurricanes welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets into PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina today at 5 p.m.
The Canes come into the game today having been beaten by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday by a score of 8-2, so the Jackets will be getting an angry Canes team no doubt. Carolina currently sits 3rd in the Metro with 22 points and has won six of their last 10 games.
The Jackets come in having won their last two games, most recently on Friday in New Jersey.
Three Keys
- Replicate The Last Two Games. The Columbus Blue Jackets have played pretty well in the last two games. They were two entirely different animals and they were able to play them both the way HC Pascal Vincent has been wanting them to play. A bad Chicago team, and a very good New Jersey team both went down at the hands of the CBJ. Lots of scoring in one game, and tight defense in the other.
- Force The Canes To Take Penalties. The Hurricanes are sitting 24th in the league in PIM with 219, so they give teams a bunch of power plays. Their PK is 25th in the league at 74.6%, this means the Jackets should have plenty of opportunities to work on their very bad PP if they can cause the Canes to take penalties. Although the Jackets PP went 0-2 on Friday, they were able to generate shots and it actually looked good for a change.
- Stay Hot Elvis. Elvis Merzlikins looked very good in goal the last two games, especially in the Jersey game. He stopped 37 shots, with 8 of those being on the power play against the top PP in the league. He looks calm and poised, and his defense is helping him out as well, which makes his job easier. He needs to continue to be that goalie assuming he gets the start against Carolina. The Canes will come out angry and looking to shell him every chance they get.
Series History.
- Columbus is 26-25-5 all-time vs. Carolina and are 13-12-3 in Raleigh.
- The CBJ are 3-2-1 in their last six against the Canes.
- Kirill Marchenko had a hat trick against Carolina on January 7, 2023.
Who to watch for Carolina
- Sebastian Aho has 5 goals and 16 points this season.
- Teuvo Teravainen leads the team with 10 goals.
- Goalie Antti Raanta is 6-3 with a GAA of 3.47 and a save % of .854. While Frederik Andersen is 4-1 with a GAA of 2.87 and a save % of .894. Their 3rd goalie is Pyotr Kochetkov is 1-4 with a GAA of 3.09 and a save % of .875.
Player Notes
- Johnny Gaudreau has 12 points in 17 games vs. the Canes.
- Patrik Laine has 19 points in 22 games against Carolina.
- Boone Jenner has goals in three straight games, including a pair vs. Chicago. He leads the team with 11 goals.
- Zach Werenski has 9 points in his last 8 games and leads the team in assists and points.
How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on Bally Sports Ohio. As always, the legendary Jeff Rimer will be on the play-by-play. The radio broadcast will be on 97.1 The Fan with Bob McElligott behind the mic doing the play-by-play.
Join Jason Newland's Columbus Blue Jacket page on Bunches, a new app that connects sports fans. Also, you can watch a new YouTube game show about the Blue Jackets, Around the Fifth Line.