3. The better team did not win.
Sure, The Columbus Blue Jackets won the game, pushing their win total to 38 games and their point total to 83 tied with the Carolina Hurricanes for the first wildcard spot. Sure the only thing holding Carolina Back from a first round meeting with the destructive Tampa Bay Lightning is the game in hand they currently hold. This is all true, but at the end of the day, the better team did not win. As seems to be the theme of this entire article, the goalie gods were with Bobrovsky.
But there is more than that. Sure, Bobrovsky was absolutely lights out in the crease as the Carolina Hurricanes again and again tried to hammer him with shots only to get frustrated again and again. But there was an element of puck luck that just was not there for Carolina. Several times, Bobrovsky was saved by an errant stick, a misplaced skate, and on several occasions, the goalposts and crossbars:
Off the crossbar and just out for Pesce! #TakeWarning pic.twitter.com/Y9xN4F5uBx
— Bally Sports: Canes (@CanesOnBally) March 16, 2019
At the end of the day, it was just one of those nights for the Carolina Hurricanes. They played solid for most of the game, but could not make up for early mistakes. It was an important game for both teams, more so for Columbus than for Carolina. It was played in a hostile arena in front of a sold out crowd of desperate fans. They were loud, they were obnoxious, and at the end of the day they got exactly what they wanted.
Carolina has not exactly played well in the first games of back to backs this season, especially after they have rested for a couple of days. That goes back to starting the game on time. Luckily for them, they are undefeated in the second game of a back to back since the start of the new year. Perhaps tonight’s game will set this team back on track towards the playoffs.
With a five game homestand coming up and five more chances to Storm Surge with the fans, the Carolina Hurricanes can look back at this game as nothing more than another speed bump on their way to the Playoffs for the first time in almost a decade. It will be a tight race to the finish, but the contestants are falling off, the Devils, Red Wings, and Senators have all been officially eliminated from playoff contention, more teams will fall off in the coming weeks. Carolina Should not be one of them.