Carolina Hurricanes Defeat Columbus Blue Jackets for 3rd Straight Win

The Carolina Hurricanes went into Columbus searching for their 3rd straight win. The Canes defeated the Blue Jackets 3-2 and kept their win streak alive on Tuesday.

Scoring Summary

Carolina Goal: 15:33 of 1st period – Zach Boychuk (2), assisted by Tim Gleason (2), Ron Hainsey (1)

Tim Gleason let a big slap shot go from the point on Blue Jackets goalie Curtis McElhinney. Zach Boychuk won a battle out front, and he chipped the puck into the net to make it 1-0 for the Carolina Hurricanes.

Carolina Goal: 17:08 of 1st period – Riley Nash (3), assisted by Andrej Sekera (5), Elias Lindholm (3)

After good offensive pressure by the Carolina Hurricanes, Riley Nash turned around and put a quick wrist shot on net, and it went in to make it 2-0 late in period one.

Columbus PP Goal: 18:59 of 1st period – Nick Foligno (5), assisted by Ryan Johansen (9), David Savard (3)

Ryan Johansen sent a slap shot on Cam Ward on the rush. The puck bounced off Ward’s pad right to Foligno, and he put in an easy rebound goal.

Carolina SH Goal: 6:54 of 2nd period – Justin Faulk (1), unassisted

Justin Faulk picked up the puck on the Carolina blue line on the PK, and he went all the way down ice to beat McElhinney on a goal that he’d likely want back.

Columbus Goal: 14:37 of 3rd period – Nick Foligno (6), assisted by Dalton Prout (3)

Foligno drove the front of the net from the corner, and he pounded the puck past Cam Ward to make it a one goal game late in period three.

Carolina EN Goal: 19:48 of 3rd period – Eric Staal (2), assisted by Brett Bellemore (2)

Eric Staal secured a Carolina Hurricanes win with a breakaway goal on the empty net.

Three Stars

1st Star: Nick Foligno (CBJ) – 2 goals, 4 shots, 3 hits, 19:18 TOI

2nd Star: Riley Nash (CAR) – 1 goal, 3 shots, 18:54 TOI, 70% faceoff percentage

3rd Star: Justin Faulk (CAR) – 1 goal, 4 shots, 26:48 TOI

Recap

The Carolina Hurricanes continued their winning ways on Tuesday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Canes went into Ohio and convincingly outplayed the Blue Jackets in route to a 3-2 win.

The Carolina Hurricanes continue to see big games from the middle of the lineup. The second and third lines have been terrific over the Canes’ 3 game win streak.

Riley Nash had yet another very good game. He scored a big goal, won 70% of his faceoffs, and was the hardest worked on the ice for the Carolina Hurricanes for much of the night.

Elias Lindholm extended his point-streak to 3 games with an assist on Nash’s goal. Nathan Gerbe, Nash’s other winger, was a +2 and put forth tons of effort like he usually does.

The Checkers line of Rask, Boychuk, and Terry continues to produce for the Carolina Hurricanes. Boychuk had a great, hardworking goal in the first period to contribute to the Carolina win on Tuesday.

Justin Faulk and Andrej Sekera have become the dominant top-pairing that they were at times last year once again. Faulk had another big game and had a big shorthanded goal to make it 3-1 in the second period.

Cam Ward was not tested very often against the Columbus Blue Jackets, but he was incredible late in the third period when the Carolina Hurricanes needed him to be good.

The game got chippy at points. Riley Nash was the victim of a dirty hit from Gibbons along the bench, and Jack Johnson laid a high, dirty hit on Tlusty that will likely get checked by the league. It was a dirty hit that will likely be suspendible. Johnson came up off his feet on a player that did not have the puck. Tlusty got up and looked dazed and out of sorts after the high hit.

Jiri Tlusty did not return to the game following the hit. He will be evaluated in the coming days.

Jeff Skinner played a season-low 11:12 of ice time on Tuesday. He was put on the 4th line with the return of Alexander Semin, and his ice time took a huge hit.

Skinner is not his normal self right now. He has not been physical, and you can likely pin that on his concussion issues. He may be afraid of getting another concussion, and at this point, can you really blame him? He’s in a tough spot.

Until he breaks out of his funk, Jeff Skinner won’t produce to his potential, which is too bad.

Alexander Semin returned to the lineup after being scratched for 2 games, and he really did not stand out. I expected more out of a guy who is fighting for ice time, but he did not stand out. He did not play poorly though, so that is an improvement over what we’ve seen this year from Semin. Alex Semin played an average game.

The Carolina Hurricanes have won three consecutive games. They improved to 3-6-2 with a win in Columbus. The Carolina Hurricanes will play the same Columbus Blue Jackets team on Friday on home ice.