Regular Season, Game 4: Hurricanes at Columbus Blue Jackets

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" appears to be the thinking for the Canes so far this season. Frederik Andersen is set to make his fourth consecutive start to open the season and the lineup will remain the same from the Montreal game on Thursday night as the Canes head into Columbus for a Metro Division matchup with the Blue Jackets. The Canes beat the Canadiens on Thursday night behind a three-point effort from Sebastian Aho and a huge goal from Jesperi Kotkaniemi in his return to Montreal to improve to 3-0-0. Columbus has been hot themselves, beating the Islanders Thursday night in overtime to move to 3-1-0. Joonas Korpisalo is expected to be standing opposite Andersen in the Columbus net. This will be the first time former Hurricanes defenseman Jake Bean will play against his former team after being traded during the offseason. I expect this Columbus group to be extremely hungry and feisty and give the Canes a tough game from the jump. 

1st Period

Scoring

(CAR) 7:11- Jesper Fast (3) (assisted by Jordan Staal (3))

(CAR) 13:35- Vincent Trocheck (1) PP (assisted by Andrei Svechnikov (2) and Tony DeAngelo (4))

Thoughts

The Canes were the much better team for the entire period. Columbus mounted a little bit of pressure, but the Canes came out of the period with a two-goal lead that was well earned. The fact that Jake Bean was directly involved in the first goal felt fitting. It was really just a great play by Staal on the wall that led to a great pass to Fast for a tap-in for his third goal. The power play also looked really great. They earned the double-minor call on Gavrikov and almost immediately scored on the front end of the power play. They did just about everything but score on the back end of it. They continued the pressure to keep the two-goal lead into the intermission. Some sloppy moments almost led to goals. The DeAngelo turnover to Laine was a big example of that. They need to be smarter with the puck and put more traffic in front of Korpisalo.

2nd Period

Scoring

(CBJ) 7:19- Boone Jenner (4) PP (assisted by Jakub Voracek (5) and Patrik Laine (4))

(CAR) 15:57- Jordan Staal (1) PP (assisted by Brett Pesce (3) and Jesperi Kotkaniemi (1))

Thoughts

I thought Columbus was the better team for most of the period. When they scored that first goal on the power play, I was starting to feel the winds of change. Ignore the fact that I thought the Pesce holding call was very weak and made to look worse than it was, I was starting to get worried about the lead. Columbus had some considerable zone time throughout the period, which is interesting since the Canes really controlled the very beginning of the period. Jordan Staal made me feel a little bit better when he scored on the power play and then was great on the defensive side afterward. The fact they're ending the period with a two-goal lead again doesn't feel nearly as good as the first period did. I'd describe it as more of a relief than anything. Three of the four goals have been on the power play, so some even strength play would be nice.

3rd Period

(CAR) 7:05 Sebastian Aho (3) PP (assisted by Vincent Trocheck (3) and Teuvo Teravainen (4))

(CAR) 16:13 Vincent Trocheck (2) (assisted by Andrei Svechnikov (3) and Jaccob Slavin (3))

Thoughts

Another absolutely dominant third period performance from the Hurricanes. In four games this season, the Canes are outscoring their opponents 8-1 in the third period and have contributed two goals in each of those contests. The third period has been there's all season long. It felt like this was a tennis match to open the period with the puck bouncing in and out of the zones. Originally, the Nyquist high stick meant absolutely nothing since the Canes couldn't do anything and Columbus was pushing. Right as I was about to think that, Sebastian Aho snaps a shot from the point that Korpisalo likely should've had, but he didn't and the Canes scored their third power play goal of the night to add to their cushion.The Canes had to kill two more penalties midway through the period and it felt like they could go on cruise control for the rest of the night. They did add a beautiful goal from Trocheck after a perfect aerial pass from Slavin and a perfect saucer pass from Svechnikov make it 5-1 and the game was effectively over.

Canes Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Andrei Svechnikov (2 assists)

Trocheck's first goal should really be credited to Svech since he let the shot go, but it deflected off Trocheck's arm, so an assist will have to do. I thought he played a disciplined game tonight. He didn't do anything to be detrimental and that saucer pass that led to Trocheck's second goal was perfect. He continues to prove that he is more than just a goal-scorer and is turning into a polished playmaker with his performance tonight.

Second Star- Vincent Trocheck (2 goals, 1 assist)

Leading the way in points tonight was Trocheck and he was truly an offensive force on the power play. He had the goal off his arm in the second, but really took it over in the third period with an assist on the Aho power play goal and then burying a beautiful feed from Svech to finish the scoring. This was easily his most noticeable game of the season.

First Star- Jordan Staal (1 goal, 1 assist)

Staal finally broke through with a power play goal in the second period to get momentum back on the Canes' side after Jenner scored for the Jackets. But, it was his defensive play that turned into offense all night. He forced the turnover and set up the Fast goal in the first and was masterful on the penalty kill to prevent any huge chances in the third period. He's the captain for a reason and he led the way tonight.

Final Thoughts

Tonight was all about the special teams. The Canes won the battle with three power play goals to the Blue Jackets' one and were able to hold them to nothing at even strength. I love seeing some guys get on the board with their first, but I also love seeing guys stay hot. It was an all-around team effort. Frederik Andersen continued to stay hot and the offense was able to net five goals. They remain perfect to open the season with another win against a division opponent. As well as some of the other teams in the division are playing, the Canes really need to keep this up. They're set for a date with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night and these two always have a fun time against each other. They haven't met since the David Ayres game in February 2019 and just two months before that was their 8-6 back and forth mess in December. The Leafs are struggling, but that just means they're due for a big win. Tonight was fun, but Monday's a new day.