Regular Season, Game 34: Hurricanes v. Columbus Blue Jackets

After another extended period off, the Hurricanes take to the ice against the Columbus Blue Jackets for the third time this season and the second time in 2022. The last time these two met was truly historic. The Jackets jumped out to a 4-0 lead, chasing Antti Raanta during the game after the first period. Frederik Andersen took over in the net and the Canes rallied for seven unanswered goals to win 7-4 on New Year's Day in Columbus. Brady Skjei and Steven Lorentz both scored twice in that game. Skjei is in the midst of a three-game goal streak. The Canes earned a point in their last outing against the Florida Panthers on Saturday night, dropping a 4-3 decision in overtime. Alex Lyon took the loss in that game, but that wasn't the only bit of news surrounding the goalies for the Canes. The team, during this time of health issues for goaltending in the NHL and AHL, signed prospect Jack LaFontaine to a one-year entry-level contract straight out of Minnesota. He's practicing with the team and has been placed on the active roster. It's expected that he'll serve as the backup tonight for Frederik Andersen, making his 23rd start tonight. They will also be without Jaccob Slavin tonight after he was placed in COVID protocol earlier this week, a huge blow for the team's defense. The Blue Jackets have been struggling quite a bit lately. They've dropped four of their last five games and 11 of their last 15. Their last game was a 4-2 loss to Chicago on Tuesday night. Elvis Merzlikins will be making the start tonight for Columbus. He was the goalie of record during the Jackets' collapse back on January 1. The Canes' offense has liked seeing the Jackets this season. They've scored 12 goals in two games, winning both by at least three goals. Nothing is going to top their matchup from New Year's Day, but I'm hoping for a good fight. I just hope they aren't rusty after not playing for a few days. 

1st Period

Scoring

(CBJ) 8:43- Emil Bemstrom (1) (assisted by Jack Roslovic (10) & Jake Bean (9))

Thoughts

The Canes that started the period and ended the period were great. The team we saw in the middle part of the period was not great. That also happens to be when the Jackets broke the ice and got onto the board. Andersen had to make three saves before Bemstrom stuffed home the rebound. Andersen faced 18 shots in the period and stopped 17 of them. Elvis Merzlikins was also very good. His period will be defined by the amazing sequence where he stopped Aho on a 2-on-1 then committed larceny on Bear as he got back over. The Canes picked up the physicality at the end of the period. Steven Lorentz was especially noticeable with some big hits in a late shift. If the team we saw at the end of the period comes out for the second period, this should be a return to form for the Canes. 

2nd Period

Scoring

(CBJ) 11:56- Yegor Chinakhov (3) (assisted by Vladislav Gavrikov (15) & Eric Robinson (10))

Thoughts

The difference in this game thus far has been the Canes' inability to hit the net on some great chances. Compound this with Merzlikins stopping everything he can see and it's a recipe for disaster for the Canes. It has to be frustrating to control play the way they were for most of the period and then give up a breakaway goal on the other end. It's unfortunate for sure, but there are still 20 minutes left to play. The Jackets are ahead in this game because of how well their goalie is playing tonight. The big players for the Canes are coming alive, but he's stopping them all. The officiating has been a little suspect so far tonight. Until the call on Bear late in the period, they have decided to keep this game at even strength or 4-on-4. They've missed a couple calls each way through 40 minutes. All it takes is one goal for the levy to break, so I'm curious to see who will do it. 

3rd Period

Scoring

(CBJ) 4:26- Patrik Laine (5) (assisted by Boone Jenner (9))

(CBJ) 5:03- Yegor Chinakhov (4) (assisted by Eric Robinson (11) & Sean Kuraly (7))

(CBJ) 5:33- Cole Sillinger (6) (assisted by Oliver Bjorkstrand (15) & Jake Bean (10))

(CBJ) 14:26- Jack Roslovic (6) (assisted by Alexandre Texier (9))

Thoughts

Without a shadow of a doubt, that was the worst period of hockey this team has played all season and it's reflected in being outscored by four goals. Frederik Andersen was given no help by his defense and was yanked in favor of Jack LaFontaine, making his NHL debut, and he was kindly met with two goals, both on breakaways. The offense mounted little to no pressure in the third period and it led to a lopsided number in the goal column for Columbus. Tony DeAngelo got a ten-minute misconduct penalty late in the game for chirping the referees after missing a really bad tripping penalty in the offensive zone, I have no problems with it at all. Andrei Svechnikov started to get chippy too, which I also have no problem with. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

I've decided for just the second time this season to not award any stars of the game. After the way they played in the third period, no one deserves anything. Frederik Andersen got no support from the team in the third period and the defense looked awful in front of him. LaFontaine came in and gave up a goal on his first shot on a breakaway. This game doesn't fall on the goalies. The first goal was a hard-fought battle, one was a missile of a one-timer, and the other four were breakaways. It goes to show that Jaccob Slavin is just that important to this team. 

Final Thoughts

The score makes it look like the Jackets wipe the floor with the Canes for 60 minutes, which isn't quite true. The Canes were goalied in the first two periods by Elvis Merzlikins, who was splendid all night, but they looked awful in the third period. Columbus outclassed them in every way tonight. Simply put, the way this defense played was terrible. They allowed four goals on breakaways and even if you stop one or two of those stops, it doesn't account for all the other great chances they allowed. It was the worst game of the season by far for the Canes by a mile. All this being said, this is not the time to panic if you're a fan of this team. They played poorly tonight, but they're still the best team in the Metropolitan Division. They're going to hold the lead in the division when we wake up in the morning. This was just one game in a long season. Next up for the Canes are the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday afternoon. It'll be interesting to see who gets the start in the net because my money was on Jack LaFontaine since it's a 1 pm start and it just feels like a perfectly weird situation to put him in for. He had a rough go of it tonight, but I'd stick with him getting his first start. We need to see a better version of this team on Saturday afternoon.