And then there were four games left.
Frederik Andersen earned his third shutout of the season with 23 saves to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-0 on Sunday at PNC Arena.
For Andersen, it's his 27th career shutout. It's the sixth time Columbus has been shut out this season.
Teuvo Teravainen had two points with a goal and an assist. Andrei Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho scored for Carolina.
Jordan Martinook, Brady Skjei, Jake Guentzel, and Jaccob Slavin had the assists. Skjei is on a three-game point streak (zero goals, three assists). Guentzel is on a five-game point streak (three goals, six assists).
Malcolm Subban made 32 saves for Columbus.
Subban's Debut
Subban made his Blue Jackets debut on Sunday against the Hurricanes as Columbus completed their weekend back-to-back following Saturday's 6-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
The game marked Subban's first NHL appearance since 2021-22 when he played for the Buffalo Sabres. Overall, he's played for five teams across eight NHL seasons, dating back to 2013-14, including stops with the Boston Bruins, Vegas Golden Knights, Chicago Blackhawks, Sabres, and Blue Jackets.
Across 87 games and 78 starts, Subban is 36-34-9 with a 3.10 goals against average and a .898 save percentage.
President and acting general manager John Davidson acquired Subban at the Mar. 8 trade deadline from the St. Louis Blues for future considerations.
This season, he's spent time with the AHL's Springfield Thunderbirds (11-14-4, 2.94 GAA, .907 SV%) and Cleveland Monsters (0-3-0, 4.56, .853).
32 saves for Malcolm Subban in his first NHL game since 2021-22 tonight. He played well.
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) April 8, 2024
Were the butterflies going? Yeah! Its funny you say that. I was thinking, I dont remember it being like this. But I was just trying to go out there and have fun tonight. #CBJ
Subban's welcome back to the NHL moment occurred at just the 17-second mark of the opening period when Svechnikov knocked in his 18th goal of the season.
Subban and the Jackets settled in after an initial shot-on-goal flurry — 11-2 Hurricanes — but Aho's 35th put Carolina ahead 2-0 on the power play at 11:44 to extend the 2-0 lead. The Jackets were outshot 13-5 in the first period.
"Those guys are the best in the world for a reason."
— Bally Sports Columbus (@BallySportsCBUS) April 7, 2024
Malcolm Subban talked about the challenge of goaltending at the NHL level and how proud he was of the team for the way they battled tonight. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/OXdzj5p09a
No Offense After Historic Night
One night after a record-setting performance against the Philadelphia Flyers in which the Blue Jackets tallied six goals from four defensemen, the offense wasn't able to do much for an encore on Sunday.
one for the record books. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/JLm6Xo6eDM
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) April 7, 2024
While it wasn't the most exciting game, the Blue Jackets kept the Hurricanes at bay. Considering their fast goal on Subban — him making his first NHL start in two years — and the two-goal deficit through one period.
One of the better chances by Columbus came from Justin Danforth in the first period on a breakaway in which he struck the post. Columbus had their only power play in the third period.
Kuraly's Return
The Blue Jackets are still quite beaten up with only four games to go but they did get Sean Kuraly back.
Kuraly returned to the lineup after missing 12 games with a lower-body injury.
"Just the culmination of watching game after game, it's not fun on TV or in person," Kuraly said before Sunday's game. "You want to be a part of it.
"We've been a group all season, and you just kind of feel like you're missing out, and you just do the best you can to get better as fast as you can."
Sean Kuraly is glad to be back in the lineup tonight, and said the best thing they can do as a team down this final stretch is to be difficult to play against. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/U7oBiW0PPt
— Bally Sports Columbus (@BallySportsCBUS) April 7, 2024
For the game, he played 13:43 with two hits and two takeaways.
Sean Kuraly and a Canes player whose number I cannot make out are barking at each other on the benches after getting tied up late in their last shift. Was a fair share of pushing, shoving, cross-checking, general tomfoolery. So Sean is back. #CBJ
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) April 7, 2024
The Bolts
The Blue Jackets conclude their season series with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, Apr. 9, from Amalie Arena at 7:00 p.m. ET. Columbus is 1-1-0 against the Lightning at Nationwide Arena this season after winning 4-2 on Nov. 2 and losing 4-2 on Feb. 10.
