The Carolina Hurricanes took on the Columbus Blue Jackets in a pivotal Metropolitan Division match-up on Monday night. The Carolina Hurricanes overcame a terrible start, and they rallied in the third period to pick up a huge 3-2 win in front of a great home crowd at the PNC Arena.
Scoring Summary
The Columbus Blue Jackets jumped on the Carolina Hurricanes early as Derek MacKenzie put home a rebound into the open goal. Fedor Tyutin took the original shot that went off the post, but MacKenzie was in the right spot to get it past Anton Khudobin. Fedor Tyutin and Corey Tropp got the assusts.
The Columbus Blue Jackets kept their foot on the gas as they capitalized on a Justin Faulk turnover to take an early 2-0 lead. Following a defensive zone turnover, Ryan Johansen found RJ Umberger in the slot and he fired it past Anton Khudobin. Ryan Johansen and Nick Foligno got the assists on the goal at 2:42 of the first period.
It wasn’t till mid-way through the third period when the next goal was scored, and it was Eric Staal who sneaked it through the legs of Sergei Bobrovski to put the Carolina Hurricanes on the board. Alex Semin walked in the slot and dropped it off to Eric Staal. Staal then place it in between the legs of Sergei Bobrovski. Alex Semin and Justin Faulk got the assists at 11:18 of the third period.
Eric Staal wasn’t finished. Jiri Tlusty won a big board battle down low, and he set up Eric Staal perfectly. Staal chipped it over the shoulder of Bobrovski out front, and that tied the game at two. Jiri Tlusty got the only assist on the goal scored at 12:18 of the third period.
The Carolina Hurricanes finished off the huge comeback with a beautiful goal from Jordan Staal at 14:05 of the third period. Jordan Staal made a great move to get past a Blue Jacket defenseman on the rush, and he was able to swipe it past Bobrovski to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 3-2 lead. Elias Lindholm and Jeff Skinner got the assists on the eventual game-winning-goal.
Game Analysis
This was a big character win from the Carolina Hurricanes. They fought back hard following an abysmal start, and they were able to keep building and building to get a big win against a division opponent.
The leadership shown by the stars on this team tonight was huge. Eric Staal and the Carolina Hurricanes first line played well for most of the night, but they came up huge in the third period. They know they are the big guys, and they displayed a great effort against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Anton Khudobin can’t really be blamed for the two goals against the Jackets. The first one was a bit fluky, and the other one was a complete defensive breakdown. He played very well, especially in the final minutes. He played out of his mind in the final five minutes, and he was a huge part in the Carolina Hurricanes win.
Andrej Sekera and Justin Faulk had a very rough start, but they bounced back nicely and they were able to play a big factor in the win.
The win was a huge one for the team. They are now in sole possession of third place in the Metropolitan Division. They are two points back of the New York Rangers who sit in second place, and the Carolina Hurricanes have two games in hand on the Rangers.
The Carolina Hurricanes played with a lot of heart and determination against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and they earned a big two points in the standings.
The Carolina Hurricanes will hope to take this momentum into Quebec tomorrow as they take on the struggling Montreal Canadiens. The Habs have lost four straight, and the Carolina Hurricanes have won four straight.
If the Carolina Hurricanes can play with the amount of emotion and heart that they did against the Columbus Blue Jackets tomorrow in Montreal, they have a great shot of extending their win streak to five games.