2023-24 Regular Season, Game 82: Hurricanes at Columbus Blue Jackets (Pregame)

On the third stop of their four-game road trip, the Hurricanes were in Chicago to face Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks. Frank Nazar, making his NHL debut after signing on Saturday, opened the scoring midway through the period on a breakaway for his first career goal. The Canes didn't get on the board until early in the second period, as the captain buried a rebound just over four minutes into the frame. Andreas Athanasiou helped Chicago regain the lead under two minutes into the third period, but Seth Jarvis redirected a shot past Petr Mrazek on the power play to tie it again a few minutes later. Jarvis struck a second time late in the period by popping a rebound home with 3:33 left to give the Canes their first lead of the night. Sebastian Aho closed it out with an empty-net goal to earn a 4-2 win to extend their win streak to five games. Jake Guentzel extended his point streak to eight games with an assist on Aho's goal, and Pyotr Kochetkov made 14 stops in the win.

The Opponent: Columbus Blue Jackets (26-43-12, 64 Points- 8th in the Metropolitan Division)
Last Meeting- While Carolina is in Columbus for the Blue Jackets' home finale, Columbus was in Raleigh nine days ago for the Hurricanes' home finale. Andrei Svechnikov scored 17 seconds into the contest, snapping one past Malcolm Subban in his Columbus debut. Sebastian Aho added to the lead on the power play, burying a pass from Jake Guentzel to double the lead. Through it all, Frederik Andersen was shutting Columbus down. Teuvo Teravainen threw a sneaky shot at the net to make it 3-0, where it would stand at the final horn. The Canes finished their home slate with a 23-save shutout from Andersen, paving the way for their final stretch on the road. 

Since We Last Met- The Blue Jackets are ready for the season to be over. Their loss in Raleigh began a four-game losing streak for Columbus in which they have been outscored 18-6 during their final road trip of the season. They suffered shutouts to the Canes and Cats, lost by three to the Bolts, and fell into too large of a hole to climb out of against the Predators on Saturday. Jet Greaves has gotten the last three starts for the Blue Jackets, all three of which have been losing efforts. Columbus is still dealing with a laundry list of injuries at the moment, so it's anyone's guess who will be ready to go for them tonight.

Stories/Keys of the Game
1. This Game Isn't Completely Pointless...But It Doesn't Mean Much
With the Rangers beating the Senators on Monday night, New York clinched the Metropolitan Division, locking the Hurricanes into the second spot in the division and setting up a date with the Islanders in the first round. While the Hurricanes can't improve their position any better within the division, they still have seeding to worry about. No team in the Eastern Conference can finish with more points than the Hurricanes, and they own any potential tiebreaker with Boston, who can tie them. Seeding really matters if the Canes make it to the Stanley Cup Final, in particular against the Dallas Stars. Dallas is on their way to being the top seed in the West, sitting with 111 points with one game left. Carolina owns the tiebreaker over Dallas, but only if they finish with the same number of points. This is thinking three steps down the line when the first round should be the priority. With as wide-open as both conferences are, I can support either decision to rest or play your starters tonight.

2. Gavin Brindley Makes His NHL Debut
While Columbus is dealing with a lot of issues when it comes to player's health, they made a big move by signing Gavin Brindley on Monday. Columbus selected Brindley 34th overall last June out of Michigan, and he was a superstar for the Wolverines this past season. In 40 games this season, Brindley scored 25 goals and 53 points, finishing in the Top 10 in the NCAA in both categories. Now, he's making the jump to the NHL, suiting up for the Blue Jackets on Tuesday for the first time. Frank Nazar had a great game against the Canes in his debut on Sunday, so Brindley's play tonight will be worth watching.

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