Three regulation losses in a row. Yikes.
Brandon Dubinsky got the Jackets on the board early, but things the rest of the night fluctuated between "meh" and "ugh" as the Jackets were unable to capitalize on their early lead.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE JACKETS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| HURRICANES | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
The Hurricanes, a trendy pick to contend in the Metropolitan division coming into this season, came into the game with just 13 points in 13 games, making them one of the league's basement-dwellers in terms of point percentage (50%). The Jackets certainly didn't play like the elite 5-on-5 team they've been so far this year, as they were actually out-shot by the Canes in this game.
The Jackets had a couple of chances – most notably Artemi Panarin in the slot and Cam Atkinson on the doorstep, but Cam Ward stood tall. The 2006 Conn Smythe winner stymied the Jackets all night long, despite coming into the game with a putrid 3.39 goals against average.
Ward's play certainly hurt the Jackets chances tonight, but another factor was the return of Brett Pesce for the Canes, who rejoined the lineup after sitting a couple of games with a concussion. The talented shutdown defenseman was a key cog in the Carolina defensive machine tonight.
On a night where the Jackets could have used more offense, they played without Sonny Milano, who scored twice in the last matchup between these two teams. He was a healthy scratch in deference to Gabriel Carlsson, who drew in as the seventh defenseman.
Injury Update
Lukas Sedlak and Matt Calvert remain sidelined, as does Zac Dalpe.
Next Up
The Jackets will head up to Detroit tonight, set to play their first game at Little Caesars Arena tomorrow night.
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