Game Day #31: On The Heels Of Back-To-Back OTL's, Blue Jackets Hit The Road To Face Hurricanes On A Short Turn-Around

After two straight overtime losses at home, the Columbus Blue Jackets hit the road for a tough, two-game road trip that begins Sunday afternoon in Raleigh against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The 5 p.m. puck drop comes less than 24 hours after Saturday night's 4-3 overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks. The Blue Jackets led with less than three minutes left before a bad bounce and a bad turnover put Columbus in the "OTL" column for the second straight game.

The Blue Jackets fell to the Washington Capitals 2-1 in overtime Thursday night.

Jet Greaves started both games — the first two appearances of the season for the 23-year-old — and looked more than capable both nights.

Elvis Merzlikins, who backed up Greaves both nights, will get the start Sunday against the Hurricanes. It will be his first start since Tuesday, when he allowed five goals on 25 shots in a 5-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Here's what else to know when Columbus faces a divisional foe:

• RE: CANES
  This is the Canes third game of a four-game homestand. They defeated the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday before being shutout by the Ottawa Senators on Friday night. Easy to imagine they'll look to atone for that early ... Take a look at the Season Stats, and it's easy to see that the Canes are a tough team: top five in goals, power play, penalty kill, shots, and shots against. ... The exception to that comes in the goals against. Carolina has allowed at least three goals in 10 of their last 11 games and a total of 44 games (4.00 goals against per game) during that stretch. After being amongst the leagues best in the first month, they've slipped to 11th in that category.
   
• "UNCHARACTERISTIC MISTAKES"
  "We’re making some mistakes that have been uncharacteristic for the majority of the season,” said head coach Dean Evason following Saturday's loss. In overtime both Saturday and Thursday, the game-winners came on sequences that included needless turnovers from the Blue Jackets. This team can compete with anyone in the league when they play a clean, complete game. Can they do that against a Carolina team that loves to stifle their opposition?
   
• A NEW LINE FROM THE BLENDER?
  Evason really liked the trio of Dmitri Voronkov, Adam Fantilli, and Kirill Marchenko. "They generated a lot," said Evason. Expect to see them together again Sunday.
   
• LINEUP CHANGES & PROJECTIONS
  Merzlikins in net, but no other lineup changes have been announced as of early Sunday afternoon. Here are the complete projections, though subject to change: