The Carolina Hurricanes face the Columbus Blue Jackets with both teams heading in opposite directions this season. The Hurricanes have a 25-9-7 record and are in first place in the Metropolitan Division but hope to rebound from four losses in a row. The Blue Jackets have a 12-26-2 record and with only two wins in their last 10 games, have fallen to last place in the division. Both teams look to improve in the Eastern Conference and the upcoming game looks to be a good one as a result.
The Hurricanes are having a great season with their offense stepping up and scoring 3.10 goals per game. Sebastian Aho, Martin Necas, and Andrei Svechnikov have scored 49 goals and 57 assists to lead the top two lines but the rest of the offense has also stepped up. Jordan Martinhook, Stefan Noesen, and Seth Jarvis have combined for 23 goals and 37 assists while defensemen Brent Burns and Brady Skjei have added 13 goals and 34 assists from the point to open up the offense.
The offense has stepped up but the defense has carried the Hurricanes, allowing only 2.73 goals per game. Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce have combined for 6.1 defensive point shares and 99 blocked shots while Jaccob Slavin, Brent Burns, and Jalen Chatfield have combined for 6.4 defensive point shares to add depth to the unit. In addition, goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov has been great with a .914 save percentage and a 2.30 goals -against average on 465 shots.