Blue Jackets at Hurricanes
The Columbus Blue Jackets have been the league's hottest team over the past 6 1/2 weeks, but their next opponent has been nearly as unbeatable -- at least on their home ice. The NHL-leading Blue Jackets kick off a three-game southern road trip when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes in a matchup of Metropolitan Division rivals.
The Blue Jackets dropped two in a row following their 16-game winning streak but got back on track with a 2-1 overtime win over Philadelphia on Sunday. "We knew it was going to be hard to come back and find a way to get wins again," Columbus captain Nick Foligno said after Sunday's victory. "Sometimes when you're on those streaks everything comes easy and we've got to find ways to get dirty ones again." The Hurricanes kicked off a four-game homestand with a 4-3 overtime win over Boston on Sunday to avert losing two in a row at PNC Arena for the first time in two months. Carolina is 11-1-1 in its last 13 games at home with the only regulation loss in that span coming to New Jersey on Jan. 3.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Columbus), FSN Carolina
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (28-7-4): Curtis McElhinney won both his starts during the 16-game winning streak to improve to 2-0-2 on the season, but he was placed on waivers Monday less than 48 hours after giving up three third-period goals in a loss to the New York Rangers. General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told The Columbus Dispatch said the decision wasn't based on one game. He played extremely well and got a few points," Kekalainen said. "There were a couple of other games where he wasn't as good."
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (18-15-7): Finnish rookie Sebastian Aho failed to score in his first 13 NHL games but the 19-year-old bumped his season total to 10 goals with a pair of tallies versus Boston, including the game-winner in overtime. “He’s just showing a lot of confidence, a lot of poise,” Carolina netminder Cam Ward said of Aho. “For his age, that’s very impressive.” The Hurricanes did not practice Monday, but waived forward Andrej Nestrasil, who has a goal and four assists in 18 games.
OVERTIME
1. Blue Jackets G Sergei Bobrovsky, 15-1-0 in his last 16 starts, is 6-5-0 with a 2.35 goals-against average versus Carolina.
2. The Hurricanes are 1-for-25 on the power play in the past 10 games.
3. Columbus recalled G Anton Forsberg from Cleveland of the American Hockey League to replace McElhinney.