Hurricanes at Blue Jackets
A five-game losing streak has all but torpedoed the postseason hopes of the Carolina Hurricanes, who will try to maintain a pulse when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night. Carolina has managed to earn a point in three of the five losses to remain within seven points of the final playoff slot in the Eastern Conference.
The Hurricanes must try to rebound from a crushing setback, allowing the tying and winning goals inside the final four minutes of regulation in Tuesday's 3-2 home loss to Buffalo. “It’s a tough one,” Carolina forward Jeff Skinner said. “It’s something to learn from.” The Hurricanes have won the lost three meetings with Columbus, including a home-and-home set in early January. The Blue Jackets did Carolina a bit of a favor by rallying from a two-goal deficit in the final 64 seconds of regulation before defeating eighth-place Philadelphia 3-2 in a shootout.
TV: 7 p.m. ET; FSN Carolinas, FSN Ohio (Columbus), NHL.TV
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (31-28-14): Following a 20-game stretch in which he was limited to one goal and one assist, forward Chris Terry has points in three straight games and has scored in back-to-back contests. "He's playing well, getting probably more consistent ice time than he's had the majority of the year," Carolina coach Bill Peters said. "He's taking advantage of it. He's finishing hard." Center Jordan Staal had a goal and an assist in each of Carolina's wins over Columbus in January, including an overtime game-winner.
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (30-35-8): Captain Nick Foligno, who sat out Tuesday's thrilling win with the flu, is expected to return to the lineup, but Columbus could be without fellow forward Jared Boll, who faces an NHL hearing Thursday afternoon for leveling Philadelphia's Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. "I didn't intend to hurt (Bellemare)," Boll said. "I was making a play, finishing a check. ... With how fast the game is happening, it's pretty hard to pull out of that hit." Foligno has scored in only one of the past 25 games, although it was a hat trick.
1. Carolina has won its last four visits to Columbus.
2. Blue Jackets F Cam Atkinson has scored seven goals in the past 10 games.
3. Hurricanes C Cam Ward is 4-4-1 with a 2.79 goals-against average versus Columbus.