The Canes had a score to settle with the Blue Jackets, and did they ever play like it
.JPG "Carolina Hurricanes’ Jordan Staal (11) is congratulated on his goal by teammates Jesper Fast (71) and Nino Niederreiter (21) during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Raleigh, N.C., Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)")
Players and coaches in the NHL always say it, and rookie forward Seth Jarvis of the Carolina Hurricanes said it again Friday morning.
“You can’t have a night off because every team is so competitive, especially teams that are a little bit lower (in the standings) right now and are playing a little desperate,” Jarvis said. “You can’t take a breath and think you’re just going to walk through the game, because you’re not. You’re going to get upset.”
Like losing 6-0 to the Columbus Blue Jackets, for example?
“Exactly,” Jarvis said.
That was the final score Jan. 13 when the Canes faced off against the Blue Jackets at PNC Arena. It was an ESPN game, a national audience and the Hurricanes were left red-faced and upset by such a poor performance.
The Canes responded Friday by winning 4-0, a complete-game victory though not a complete beatdown of Columbus, which won Thursday at Florida and had won seven of its last eight games.
Carolina, 36-11-4 and five points ahead in the Metropolitan Division, had a 50-19 shooting advantage, although goalie Frederik Andersen did make some terrific saves among the shots he did face. The Canes effectively killed off their penalties — Columbus was 0-4 on the power play — while getting a power-play goal from Teuvo Teravainen.
“It was a good effort from everybody. We controlled the game,” said Canes captain Jordan Staal, who had the game’s first goal.
The Canes made it a quiet night for Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine, who had been on a torrid tear, with 13 goals and eight assists in an 11-game point streak that was the longest in the NHL. That came to a halt Friday as Laine was held to one shot.
“He’s a guy you’ve got to be aware of, a guy who can really score from anywhere,” Staal said. “He’s a guy you can’t really give any time, especially when crosses that blue line. You’ve got to be right on top of him and the boys did a good job of that tonight.”
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The Canes did everything but score in the first, spending a lot of time around the Columbus net and putting 16 shots on net. It was a gritty period by the Blue Jackets and goalie J-F Berube a night after a 6-3 victory at Florida. Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov was left bloodied after taking a puck in the side of the head on a Brett Pesce pass but returned to the game.
“When you have a big win and you travel and you play the next day and you’re just flat,” Brind’Amour said of the Jackets “We knew they were flat tonight and we took advantage of it.”
The Canes’ pressure game continued in the second period as Staal and then Teravainen scored and Carolina put another 22 shots on net. Staal batted the puck past Berube for his third goal in the past seven games “I’m just getting warmed up,” he quipped — and Teravainen later ripped a shot three seconds into a power play after Sebastian Aho won the faceoff.
If there has been a knock on the Hurricanes this season it has been about their fluctuation in play against the better and weaker teams in the league. Before Friday, Carolina was 18-4-3 against the teams in playoff position and 17-7-1 against teams trying to get into position or falling out of it.
Case in point: the Canes hammered the Boston Bruins 6-0 in Boston but lost to the Seattle Kraken. They beat the New York Rangers 6-3, then lost to the New Jersey Devils. And there was that 6-0 whipping by Columbus at PNC Arena, where the Canes are 18-4-2 this season.
But there would be no letup Friday by the Canes, certainly not in the third period. Nino Niederreiter scored from behind the net, getting the good bounce off Berube’s skate. Vincent Trocheck took advantage of a loose play in the Columbus zone by the Blue Jackets (27-24-1), swooping in to grab the puck in the slot and rip one past Berube for the 4-0 lead.
The only question left was whether Andersen would pick up his third shutout of the season while earning his NHL-leading 28th win. He had Canes fans chanting “Fred-die, Fred-die!” in the final moments.
The Canes’ 50 shots were the most since a November 2018 game against Detroit. All in all, a complete-game victory.
This story was originally published February 25, 2022 at 9:44 PM.
