Welp, The Streak is over. In some ways, that can be a good thing. The pressure's off. But, there's no time to reflect. The schedule moves forward in Raleigh tonight against the suddenly-hot-again Canes.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Carolina Hurricanes
January 27, 2014 - 7:00 pm EST
PNC Arena - Raleigh, North Carolina
Radio - WBNS 97.1 - TV - Fox Sports Ohio
Opponent's Blog: Canes Country
SBN's Blue Jackets vs Hurricanes coverage
Well, we all knew the winning streak had to end sometime, but it stings to have lost to the worst team in the league, for sure. That said, there were many positive take-aways from the game, in terms of the raw numbers. When your goalie has an off night and the other goalie plays like the Olympic MVP he is/was, well, that right there tips the scales.
At any rate, the Jackets get a chance to wipe that loss away as they travel to Raleigh for a rare (of late) road game, the front-end of a back-to-back that concludes tomorrow night back at home. The Jackets have had the Canes' number over the past several seasons, but that means little going into tonight's game. The Jackets will have some more roster flux, as David Savard is still unable to go. Cody Goloubef gets the start on the third pairing tonight.
Likewise, Blake Comeau is back off of IR, but it not going to play tonight. Look for him tomorrow vs. Ottawa.
It looks like Sergei Bobrovsky will get a chance to redeem himself tonight, as he is getting the work as the starter at the morning skate.
The Canes have been playing well, winning three straight and seven of 10 after a brutal five game winless stretch. They've gotten Eric Staal back and are scoring some goals, including 14 during their three-game winning streak. They're creeping back up the Metro standings, sitting one point behind Philly and Columbus. So, tonight's game becomes one of those huge, division four-pointers.
For Columbus, honestly, if they play the way they did for the most part against Buffalo, and get their "normal" expected goaltending, I like their chances of starting a new streak. Hopefully no doubt has crept in after the loss on Saturday.
Projected Lineups
Columbus Blue Jackets
(26-21-4, 56 Points; 3rd division, 8th conference)
| Matt Calvert | Brandon Dubinsky | Cam Atkinson |
| Boone Jenner | Artem Anisimov | Nathan Horton |
| Nick Foligno | Ryan Johansen | R.J. Umberger |
| Derek MacKenzie | Mark Letestu | Corey Tropp |
| Fedor Tyutin | Jack Johnson |
| Ryan Murray | James Wisniewski |
| Nikita Nikitin | Cody Goloubef |
| Sergei Bobrovsky |
| Curtis McElhinney |
Carolina Hurricanes
(23-19-9, 55 Points; 5th division, 10th conference)
| Jiri Tlusty | Eric Staal | Alexander Semin |
| Jeff Skinner | Jordan Staal | Elias Lindholm |
| Drayson Bowman | Manny Malhotra | Nathan Gerbe |
| Tuomo Ruutu | Riley Nash | Radek Dvorak |
| Justin Faulk | Andrej Sekera |
| John-Michael Liles | Ron Hainsey |
| Mike Komisarek | Jay Harrison |
| Anton Khudobin |
| Justin Peters |
Season Series
12/23/13 - Columbus 4 at Carolina 3
01/10/14 - Carolina 0 at Columbus 3
01/27/14 - Columbus at Carolina
03/18/14 - Carolina at Columbus
03/29/14 - Columbus at Carolina
Head to Head Stats
Carolina Columbus 2.55 (19) GPG 2.86 (9) 2.78 (16) GAPG 2.82 (18) 14.4% (26) PP% 18.6% (17) 79.5% (25) PK% 80.4% (18) Jeff Skinner, 22 G leader Ryan Johansen, 19 Eric Staal, 30 A leader James Wisniewski, 27 Eric Staal, 42 Pts leader Ryan Johansen, 37 Eric Staal, 48 PIM leader Brandon Dubinsky, 78 12-10-5 Home/Road 12-11-2 1/25 @ Ottawa, W 6-3 Last Game 1/25 vs. Buffalo, L 5-2 7-3-0 Last 10 8-2-0