There were times that the Carolina Hurricanes seemed a little out of kilter during the past month, but they might be hitting their stride again.
They will see if they can keep the recent momentum going when they face the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night in Raleigh, N.C.
The Hurricanes have won three games in a row for the first time since mid-November. They are on a 5-1-1 run and are coming off back-to-back road victories over the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday and the Dallas Stars on Tuesday.
The Thursday game will mark the end of a four-game road trip for the Blue Jackets, who are 1-1-1 after a 5-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. That result was sparked by the first career hat trick from Adam Fantilli, who was playing in his hometown.
Now it will be a matter of Columbus refocusing after being on an emotional high. Despite the brief wobble to start the trip, the Blue Jackets are 7-1-1 in their past nine games.
The Hurricanes could send veteran goalie Frederik Andersen out for his first home appearance since the season opener, when he took his lone loss in five starts this season. He went down with a knee injury in late October and missed nearly three months after surgery, returning to action Monday in a 4-3 overtime victory against the Blackhawks.
Pyotr Kochetkov handled net duties the next night in Dallas and made 22 saves in a 2-1 win.
“That’s the position, we talk about it over and over and over,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said of the goalies. “If our guy can be better than the other guy at the other end, we’re usually in good shape.”
The Blue Jackets could be in a different situation regarding goaltending. Elvis Merzlikins left the mid-day skate on Wednesday with an apparent injury, but then he was in the crease that night and stopped 28 of 29 shots while beating the Maple Leafs. Daniil Tarasov is Columbus’ backup.
Columbus will be without defenseman Denton Mateychuk, who has missed the past two games because of illness. Cole Sillinger (upper-body injury) also was out on Wednesday.
The Blue Jackets say they know the best formula to create constant pressure.
“If we start to skate around and try to make the hard plays, it’s not our game,” said Columbus winger Kirill Marchenko, who recorded his 33rd assist on Wednesday. “We need to just be inside and shoot more pucks and play more simple.”
Columbus also will look to slow Martin Necas. The Hurricanes forward has 16 multi-point games this season — tied for 10th in the NHL — after registering two assists on Tuesday.
“An elite player that does a bit of everything,” Brind’Amour said. “Obviously creates a lot of offense.”
This will be the teams’ fourth meeting of the season, with the home team having won the first two. Columbus posted a 5-4 shootout win on Nov. 23 and a 4-3 shootout victory on Dec. 31, sandwiching Carolina’s 4-1 triumph on Dec. 15.
The Blue Jackets are in a similar situation that Carolina was in at the beginning of the week — playing a road game followed the next night by another road assignment against a team that has been off for a day.
–Field Level Media
