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| CAROLINA HURRICANES |
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22–7–1 (45 points; .750%) ROSTER / SCHEDULE |
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1:00 P.M. – SATURDAY, JANUARY 1 NATIONWIDE ARENA COLUMBUS, OH |
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BALLY SPORTS OHIO ESPN+ (Out of Market) |
After a two-week break, the Columbus Blue Jackets returned to the ice Thursday and picked up a 4-3 shootout victory over the Nashville Predators, a formidable opponent.
When they hit the ice Saturday for the first game of the new year, Columbus' opponent will be more than just formidable.
Picking up 75% of their possible points this season, the Carolina Hurricanes have the best record in hockey. Carolina is one of three teams (Washington and St. Louis) to rank top eight in both goals for and goals against.
To pick up the two difficult points — and to get some revenge for Carolina's 5-1 win over Columbus in October — the Blue Jackets will need a complete team effort.
| CBJ | CAR | |
|---|---|---|
| 3.17 | GOALS FOR | 3.30 |
| 3.34 | AGAINST | 2.07 |
| 17.8% | POWER PLAY | 24.5% |
| 78.2% | PENALTY KILL | 89.2% |
| 29.8 | SHOTS FOR | 33.1 |
| 34.7 | SHOTS AGAINST | 27.1 |
| 50.6% | FACEOFF WINS | 54.9% |
| 56.3% | MONEYPUCK'S ODDS TO WIN | 43.7% |
| 42.0% | THE 538'S ODDS TO WIN | 58.0% |
| 87.6 | 82-GAME POINT PACE | 123.0 |
RE: CAROLINA
The Hurricanes came out of the extended break without missing a beat — the team that allows the fewest goals in the league (2.07) shutout the Montreal Canadiens, 4-0, their third consecutive win.
When they look to make it four Saturday at Nationwide Arena, it will be the Hurricanes' first road affair since December 12th. That game was a 2-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks, but Carolina responded by outscoring their opponents 14-4 in the three games since.
The offensive firepower can be mostly attributed to forward Sebastian Aho. The 24-year-old leads the Hurricanes in goals (15), assists (19), points (34), plus/minus (+13), power play goals (6), shots (88), and ice time amongst forwards (19:31).
Aho does not come alone. Teuvo Teravainen, Andrei Svechnikov, and Anthony DeAngelo are all over 20 points. Vincent Trocheck isn't there yet, but keep an eye on the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native: he scored two in the first matchup of the season and assisted on another.
In addition to their league-leading goals against average, Carolina also leads the league in shots allowed (27.1), and that will be further complicated by the likely return of goalie Frederik Andersen, who cleared COVID-19 protocols Thursday and served as the team's backup goalie in the win over Montreal. On the year, Andersen is 16-5-0 as a starter, with miniscule numbers in both goals against (1.93) and save percentage (.930). All of these numbers indicate that Columbus will need to focus on good, quality shots Saturday to have anything more than a minimal chance.
STORYLINES
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COVID HAPPENINGS
It can be difficult to keep track of, so here it is: Columbus has had a total of eight players in COVID-19 protocols in the last number of weeks. Half of them — Boone Jenner, Jack Roslovic, Andrew Peeke, and Gabriel Carlsson — were back in the lineup in Thursday's win. Of the other four: Eric Robinson and Joonas Korpisalo have cleared protocols since that game and skated in Friday's practice. Oliver Bjorkstrand could benefit from the NHL's reduced quarantine time for vaccinated players who test positive; if Bjorkstrand gets a negative test Saturday, he will be eligible to return. Gavin Bayreuther is not eligible to return until Tuesday against Tampa Bay, at the earliest. Away from COVID-19, the club announced Friday that forward Justin Danforth would miss a number of weeks with a sprained MCL, and that defenseman Scott Harrington was recalled from Cleveland.
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TEX MESSANGING
Alexandre Texier is having the break-out season that many waited for and some were starting to have doubts would ever come. Texier joined Jenner as the second Blue Jacket to hit double-digit goals this season, with Tex's 10th coming in the third period to tie the game at 3-3. He's already at a career high in goals, and his 1.38 goals per 60 minutes is second best on the team behind Max Domi, at 1.61 but in a smaller (19 games) sample size. To give you the company that comes with this season, Texier s tied with Toronto's William Nylander, just ahead of the familiar name of Cam Atkison (1.36), and just behind Vladimir Tarasenko's 1.39. That's not bad company to be around. Texier would come up with the shootout winner too, and his skills in the skills competition are filthy good.
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THAT QUICK GOAL BUG
The Blue Jackets were up to their old tricks Thursday, allowing two goals in a short span of time for what felt like the 1,000th time of the season. Two goals just :35 seconds apart turned a 2-1 Blue Jackets lead into a 3-2 deficit, but Texier's aforementioned goal bailed Columbus out. It was the 5th time in seven games that Columbus allowed two goals in a span of less than one minute: San Jose scored 0:24 apart all the way back on December 5th. Two nights later, Toronto scored twice in seven seconds. Two games after that, it was Seattle's turn — the Kraken scored twice in 0:22. In the last game before the extended break, the Edmonton Oilers hit on back-to-back power plays just 0:46 apart. If the Blue Jackets give up one, hold your breath.
PROJECTED LINES*
| LW | C | RW | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | Patrik Laine | 38 | Boone Jenner | 93 | Jakub Voracek |
| 16 | Max Domi | 34 | Cole Sillinger | 14 | Gustav Nyquist |
| 96 | Jack Roslovic | 42 | Alexandre Texier | 15 | Gregory Hofmann |
| 50 | Eric Robinson | 7 | Sean Kuraly | 52 | Emil Bemstrom |
| LD | RD | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Zach Werenski | 22 | Jake Bean |
| 44 | Vladislav Gavrikov | 27 | Adam Boqvist |
| 53 | Gabriel Carlsson | 2 | Andrew Peeke |
| Starting Goalie | Backup | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 90 | Elvis Merzlikins | 70 | Joonas Korpisalo |
*SUBJECT TO CHANGE
