Carolina Hurricanes: 5 takeaways from loss to Blue Jackets

If the Carolina Hurricanes could have taken advantage of a few key power play chances, they could have defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 10.

The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Minnesota Wild in a shootout in their season opener at PNC Arena. However, their luck did not hold up as well against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 10. Carolina’s first game against both an Eastern Conference and Metropolitan Division opponent ended in a 2-1 overtime loss.

Head coach Bill Peters is making some clearly visible progress in Raleigh, NC. The Canes have give two very good teams from last season a run for their money and came away with three points. Considering the Canes are not accustomed to getting off to great starts in recent years, this is a very encouraging sign.

Yet, they still fell short to a Blue Jackets team spearheaded by a red hot goalie in former Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky. Scott Darling did play well between the pipes for Carolina. The goaltending battle came to the forefront in a game headlined by two teams with a ton of young talent.

Carolina’s young core of players like Jeff Skinner, Jaccob Slavin, and Victor Rask gave a solid effort despite the loss. Skinner did net the only goal scored by the Canes. That goal came in the final two minutes of the contest and nearly saved the game for Carolina.

Next up for the Canes is the first road game of the season as they take on the Winnipeg Jets. They’re next home game comes in two weeks against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The schedule does lighten up from here for the next few games which gives the Canes a chance to generate some real momentum.

Now, let’s take a look at 5 takeaways from the Carolina Hurricanes loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.