Game #2 Preview: Hurricanes at Blue Jackets

Friday, October 5, 2018 – 7:00 EST
Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
TV: Fox Sports Ohio; Radio: 97.1 WBNS FM
Opponent’s Blog: Canes Country

Carolina Hurricanes (2018-19 record: 0-0-1, 1 point, 6th Metro, 8th East)

vs.

Columbus Blue Jackets (2018-19 record: 1-0-0, 2 points, 3rd Metro, 3rd East)

The Columbus Blue Jackets opened up the regular season with a 3-2 overtime victory Thursday night at Little Caesar’s Arena, home of the Detroit Red Wings. Tonight, they’ll have their own home-opener as they welcome in Metropolitan Division rivals, the Carolina Hurricanes, who lost their season opener Thursday at home to the New York Islanders 2-1 in overtime.

Joonas Korpisalo made the rare start for John Tortorella, citing a strong preseason and camp from Korpisalo, while Bobrovsky looked rusty in the latter part of the exhibition slate. None of that will matter tonight if Bobrovsky, who will make the start, plays as well as he did last season. Or Korpisalo last night for that matter.

Player to Watch

Sergei Bobrovsky

Bobrovsky wasn’t particularly sharp in preseason, allowing 13 goals in the three games he took part in. But alas, preseason does not matter all that much, especially for a former Vezina-winning goalie who figures to flip that switch now that the games count for real. We’ll see how he makes the transition into the regular season.

I’m not all that concerned with Bobrovsky, especially if he looks like the formidable All-Star we’re used to seeing in the opening minutes of the game. In the the opening minutes of last night’s game, Korpisalo faced a majority of early action his way early before Columbus adjusted and took the puck into Detroit’s zone. Maybe some early action for Bobrovsky to keep him on his toes early wouldn’t be the worst thing for #72.

Jackets Notes

Well, as you know, Sergei Bobrovsky is back in the crease. … Zach Werenski led the opening night game against Detroit with 28:27 ice-time and seven shots. … Anthony Duclair earned his first Blue Jackets point, a second period assist against the Wings. … Artemi Panarin is the early-scoring leader, with two points, including the game-winner in overtime Thursday. … The Blue Jackets have won seven-consecutive games against the Red Wings dating back to 2016-17.

The Other Bench

The Hurricane come into play 0-1 after their overtime loss to the Islanders Thursday. The early prognosticators don’t necessarily love Carolina this season, but the ‘Canes have had success against Columbus, splitting the four games last season. Jeff Skinner was shipped out to Buffalo over the offseason, which is good news for Columbus as they won’t have to face the lethal winger (one goal, two assists last season versus Columbus). But the Hurricanes still feature Teuvo Teravainen (23-41 in 2017-18), who has upped his goal-scoring and point-totals each year of his career.

New head coach Rod Brind’Amour makes his debut behind the bench for Carolina, hoping to replicate the success he had as a 20-year player in the NHL. Retiring in 2010, the 2006 Stanley Cup champion spent 10 seasons with Carolina as a player, and stayed in the organization as an assistant coach and development coach since 2011.

With Petr Mrazek starting last night for the ‘Canes, perhaps we’ll see a familiar face in the opposing net. Just recently let go by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Curtis McElhinney was picked up off waivers by Carolina, who is expected to take the place of injured Scott Darling.

Season Series

10/05/2018 CAR @ CBJ
11/17/2018 CBJ @ CAR
1/4/2019 CBJ @ CAR
3/15/2019 CAR @ CBJ

Stats

Projected Lineups