After beating the New York Islanders in a roller coaster of a game, the Columbus Blue Jackets head to Carolina to take on the Hurricanes.
The Columbus Blue Jackets and the Carolina Hurricanes meet for the third time this season with each team winning a game so far. The Hurricanes only have three wins out of eight tries in the month of December but are kept afloat by getting a point in five of those eight games. The Hurricanes are currently only four points back from a wild card spot with 33 points on the year.
The Blue Jackets and the Hurricanes are familiar with each other, so there should be no feeling out process in this tilt. The Blue Jackets do get an edge on the Hurricanes because the Canes played last night in Buffalo winning the game eventually in OT.
The Hurricanes are a balanced team with four players scoring over twenty points so far this season. The Columbus Blue Jackets only have two so far this season in Artemi Panarin and Oliver Bjrokstrand. Jeff Skinner is fourth on the Canes with 21 points, but he is the player to watch as he has been a notable Jacket killer.
The Blue Jackets look to follow up their win over the Islanders with a full three periods of play. The Blue Jackets were inconsistent in their game against the Islanders, so it is important for them to put together a full 60 minutes against the Hurricanes.
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This should be a hard-fought divisional match up, but I expect the Blue Jackets to take advantage of a Carolina team that will start slow after playing into overtime last night. The Jackets will just have to play a full 60 minutes instead of just spurts.