THE END TIMES
Jackets confront task of turnaround as season winds down
With this year’s playoff hopes long gone, the Blue Jackets have been trying to set a foundation for next year.
“For us, unfortunately where we are, we’re just trying to play hockey and build a good culture,” defenseman Damon Severson said.
But Sunday in Raleigh, North Carolina, where the Carolina Hurricanes were playing their home finale, Columbus (26-40-12) saw why they have been stuck at the bottom of the Metropolitan’s standings while the Canes (49-22-7) are battling for the division’s top spot.
Andrei Svechnikov scored 17 seconds in, the Hurricanes built a 2-0 lead in the first period and Carolina polished off a 3-0 shutout in front of the 41st sellout crowd at PNC Arena this season. In fact, it’s been more than 13 months since the last non-sellout there.
Sebastian Aho scored the second goal of the first period for the Hurricanes, who added an insurance goal in the third by Teuvo Teravainen with 6:07 left to play. Frederik Anderson made 23 saves for the goaltending win and third shutout of the season (15 games).
Malcolm Subban, who backed up rookie Jet Greaves on Saturday, took the loss in net for Columbus while making 32 saves in his first action for the Blue Jackets, his fifth NHL team.
This game was one of those backto-back turnaround games that was almost a guaranteed loss before the first puck even hit the ice.
The Blue Jackets downed the Flyers 23 hours earlier by a score of 6-2 and boarded their flight, while the Hurricanes were off Saturday.
The Hurricanes are big, skilled, experienced and filled with ‘heavy’ skaters who make life miserable for most opponents between the circles at both ends of the ice. They’re a lot like the Winnipeg Jets, Vegas Golden Knights, New York Islanders and other Stanley Cup contenders who’ve given the youthful Blue Jackets fits this season, even before a rash of injuries and other issues took up to 10 NHL regulars out of Columbus’ lineup.
Once again, the heavier and better overall team controlled the game by dominating the middle of the ice from end-to-end. The Hurricanes outshot the Jackets 13-5 in the first period and finished with a 35-23 edge in shots while owning the puck in terms of attempted shots, scoring chances, high-danger chances and expected goals.
According to Natural Stat Trick, Carolina won the 5-on-5 battle with edges in attempts (56.4%), shots (56%), scoring chances (27-14, 65.8%), high-danger chances (15-3, 83.3%) and expected goals (2.89-1.31). A high number of attempts for the Hurricanes were launched from the slot areas, as compared to most of the Blue Jackets’ attempts coming from the perimeter and blue line.
Among the areas in which the Blue Jackets must improve to become playoff contenders in the future, this one tops the list.
One of the few bright spots for the Jackets was that Sean Kuraly played after missing 12 games with a lower-body injury. The veteran center anchored the third line, playing 13:43 on 16 shifts and going 5-for-9 on faceoffs (56%).
“It’s not fun (watching) on TV or in person,” Kuraly said. “You want to be a part of it. We’ve been a group all season, and you just feel like you’re missing out. You just do your best to get better as fast as you can, and when you’re better you make yourself available and try to get in.”
Kuraly and his teammates have four games remaining starting with Tuesday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. bhedger@dispatch.com @Brianhedger