Believe it or not, the Columbus Blue Jackets aren't out of this thing yet.
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| CAROLINA HURRICANES |
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20–7–1 (41 points) ROSTER / SCHEDULE |
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7:00 P.M. – THURSDAY, MAR. 18 PNC ARENA RALEIGH, NC |
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FOX SPORTS OHIO FOX SPORTS |
But in order to stay in the Stanley Cup Playoff race, they'll need to blow through the Carolina Hurricanes in an unusual occurrence of four consecutive games against the same team.
With a win Thursday, Columbus could (with help from the Tampa Bay Lightning) be just two points out of a playoff spot with an equal number of games played to the team currently holding the final postseason spot, the Chicago Blackhawks.
As for that quirky scheduling, this will be the first time in franchise history that the Blue Jackets have played the same opponent four times in a row during the regular season. For the Hurricanes however, it will be the second time this season; they faced the Lightning for four straight less than a month ago. In that series, Carolina won the first game 4-0 at home before being outscored 10-3 in the next three games, finishing the set 1-3-0.
Following those three straight losses, the Hurricanes went on a tear, winning eight in a row in a streak that came to an end with a loss Tuesday night in Detroit.
Despite winning on the scoreboard, Carolina did suffer a big loss during their run, as forward Vincent Trocheck was sidelined with an upper body injury. The team announced Wednesday that he will not play in the series opener with the Blue Jackets and is listed as week-to-week, making it unlikely that he will be ready before the final game of the series next Thursday.
Trocheck, along with forward Nino Niederreiter, lead the Hurricanes with 13 goals each.
Even with Trocheck out, Carolina is an extremely balanced and dangerous team. They rank 8th in the NHL in both goals (3.32 per game) and in goals allowed (2.57), and have six players with more than 20 points on the season. By comparison, the Blue Jackets have just two (Oliver Bjorkstrand and Cam Atkinson).
Here's a look at tonight's projected (and subject to change) lines for Columbus:
Columbus Blue Jackets Projected Lines
| LW | C | RW | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Max Domi | 96 | Jack Roslovic | 13 | Cam Atkinson |
| 28 | Oliver Bjorkstrand | 71 | Nick Foligno | 29 | Patrik Laine |
| 38 | Boone Jenner | 20 | Riley Nash | 52 | Emil Bemstrom |
| 50 | Eric Robinson | 49 | Ryan MacInnis | 23 | Stefan Matteau |
*lines are subject to change
| LD | RD | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Zach Werenski | 3 | Seth Jones |
| 44 | Vladislav Gavrikov | 58 | David Savard |
| 46 | Dean Kukan | 15 | Michael Del Zotto |
| Goalie | Backup | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 70 | Joonas Korpisalo | 90 | Elvis Merzlikins |
Storylines
- FRESH FACES: With Alexandre Texier out at least the next two games with an illness, head coach John Tortorella conducted practice Wednesday with a 4th line of Eric Robinson, Ryan MacInnis, and Stefan Matteau. While Robinson has played in all 30 games this season, it would be just the second game of the year for Matteau and the first NHL game for MacInnis in over a calendar year.
- STAY OUT OF THE BOX: At 31.9%, the Carolina Hurricanes have the best power play in the league by a full 2% over any other team. The Blue Jackets are 0-4-1 this season when going to the penalty kill four or more times, but have points in six of the eight games in which they've been to the box less than twice. It's not a revelation that staying out of the box boosts the chance of a win, but it's nearly a must to do so when the opponents have an elite special teams unit. The Carolina penalty kill is strong as well, ranking 9th.
- EMERGING EMIL?: The 21-year-old Sweed may be getting close to taking his game to the next level. The last two games, his 14th and 15 of the season, Emil Bemstrom has seen a combined 28:40 of ice time; they're the two games this season in which he's been on the ice most. He's without a goal on the season though, and it's easy to see that he's frustrated. But he's getting close - he's been robbed a few times by great saves - and other parts of his game are progressing, hence the boost in minutes. If he can just get the monkey off his back with a goal, it could open the flood gates to many more.
