| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
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2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
|
CBJ GOALS: |
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Carolina scored two first-period goals and never trailed in a 4-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday evening.
Dmitri Voronkov was the lone goal-scorer for the Blue Jackets. His second-period goal to make it a one-goal game was answered by the Hurricanes less than two minutes later, extending their lead to 3-1.
The Hurricanes added a fourth goal just over six minutes into the third to put the game out of reach.
Much of the game was played with just five defensemen for the Blue Jackets. Jack Johnson took a high-stick to the eye early in the first, and while he would briefly return for two shifts towards the end of the first, the veteran blueliner never returned to the bench after the intermission and was ruled out in the second with what the team is calling an "upper body" injury.
To add insult to injury, Carolina's first goal of the came was a short-handed one on the double-minor given to the Canes for the high-stick.
Here's how the second half of a back-to-back for the Blue Jackets went down:
1st Period:
(8:28 - CAR Goal): The Blue Jackets are in the middle of a four-minute power play following a Jesperi Kotkaniemi high-stick that caught the eye of Johnson — but it was Carolina that gets the goal out of it. Cole Sillinger has trouble entering the zone with the puck and it leads to a 2-on-1 for the Canes. Ivan Provorov plays it right against Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho, but Jarvis gets a great pass off to Aho and he beats Merzlikins for the short-handed strike.
(19:09 — CAR Goal): Escaping the first period down just 1-0 would've been more than acceptable, given the short turn-around and being on the road. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. William Carrier gets his third goal of the season with 52 seconds left in the frame to make it a 2-0 Carolina lead.
2nd Period:
(15:52 — CBJ Goal): Voronkov cuts the lead in half with less than five minutes left in the second on his eighth goal of the season. Kirill Marchenko gets an 85mph shot off on Tokarski, who gives up a juicy rebound. Marchy gets it back in the corner and skates behind the net. As he does, he sees Voronkov right in front of the net with no between him and the Canes netminder. He gets the pass to his Russian linemate, and Voronkov easily puts it away to cut the lead and make it a 2-1 game.
Some work to do for the #CBJ as we begin period three. They trail 3-1, but do start the final frame with an abbreviated power play.
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) December 16, 2024
Here's the goal from Columbus in the 2nd; Dmitri Voronkov's 8th of the season. pic.twitter.com/NFvz89KF2z
(17:16 — CAR Goal): It takes less than 90 seconds for the Hurricanes to restore a two-goal lead. Jordan Martinook redirects a Jordan Staal shot from the point and it goes in to make it 3-1 Carolina with 2:44 left in the period. Evason challenges for goaltender interference but the goal would stand.
Carolina gets a power play following the challenge and scores again, but Evason again would challenge — this time for a hand pass — and this one is successful. The score would remain 3-1. With one second left in the period, Sean Monahan has a golden chance to make it a 3-2 game, but his shot into the wide-open net goes wide.
3rd Period:
(6:19 — CAR Goal): Kotkaniemi makes it a 4-1 game. Martin Necas gets the primary assist, his 30th assist and 44th point of the season. Both are among the top ten in the league for Necas, who is having an outstanding season.
| CBJ | GAME STATS | CAR |
|---|---|---|
| 28 | SHOTS | 28 |
| 39% | FACEOFFS | 61% |
| 0/5 | POWER PLAY | 0/3 |
| 3/3 | PENALTY KILL | 5/5 |
| 23 | HITS | 17 |
| 26 | GIVEAWAYS | 24 |
| 5 | TAKEAWAYS | 5 |
| 16 | BLOCKED SHOTS | 11 |
| ALL SITUATIONS ADVANCED STATS | ||
| 1.59 | EXPECTED GOALS | 2.87 |
| 48 | SHOT ATTEMPTS | 65 |
| 19 | SCORING CHANCES | 24 |
| 3 | HIGH-DANGER CHANCES | 9 |
| Data via NHL.com & NaturalStatTrick.com | ||
Stat Chat:
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Columbus had just three high-danger scoring chances, their lowest total of the season. Their 1.59 expected goals was the second lowest total of the season, beating only the 1.44 count against the Winnipeg Jets in a 6-2 loss on November 1st.
- After four straight games with a power play goal, the Blue Jackets went 0/5 on the man-advantage in the loss. It was their second game of the season in which they failed to convert a power play with at least five attempts (0/5 against Vancouver on December 6th).
Up Next:
The two-game road trip ends Tuesday night when the Blue Jackets travel to the Florida Gulf Coast for a battle against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m.
