RALEIGH, N.C. — Players and coaches in the NHL always say it, and rookie forward Seth Jarvis of the Carolina Hurricanes said it again Friday morning.
“You can’t have a night off because every team is so competitive, especially teams that are a little bit lower (in the standings) right now and are playing a little desperate,” Jarvis said. “You can’t take a breath and think you’re just going to walk through the game, because you’re not. You’re going to get upset.”
Like losing 6-0 to the Columbus Blue Jackets, for example?
“Exactly,” Jarvis said.
That was the final score Jan. 13 when the Canes faced off against the Blue Jackets at PNC Arena. It was an ESPN game, a national audience and the Hurricanes were left red-faced and upset by such a poor performance.
The Canes had another chance at it Friday. No ESPN this time, just the opportunity to settle a score that was unsettling. As defenseman Ethan Bear put it, “I’d like to get back at them and do what they did to us.”
The Hurricanes went on to win, 4-0, a complete-game victory, though not a complete beatdown of Columbus (27-24-1), which had won four straight and was 9-2-0 in its last 11. Carolina (36-11-4) had a 50-19 shooting advantage, although goalie Frederik Andersen did make some terrific saves among the shots he did face.
The Canes made it a quiet, inconsequential night for the Blue Jackets’ Patrik Laine, who had been on a torrid tear, with 13 goals and eight assists in an 11-game point streak. That came to a halt Friday as Laine was held to one shot.
The Canes did everything but score in the first, spending a lot of time around the Columbus net and putting 16 shots on net only to come away empty. It was a gritty period by the Blue Jackets and goalie J-F Berube a night after a 6-3 road victory at Florida. Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov was left bloodied after taking a puck in the side of the head on a Brett Pesce pass but returned to the game.
The Canes’ pressure game continued in the second period as Staal and then Teravainen scored and Carolina put another 21 shots on net. Staal batted the puck past Berube and Teravainen later ripped a shot three seconds into a power play after Sebastian Aho won the faceoff.
If there has been a knock on the Hurricanes this season it has been about their fluctuation in play against the better and weaker teams in the league. Before Friday, Carolina was 18-4-3 against the teams in playoff position and 17-7-1 against teams trying to get into position or well out of it.
Case in point: the Canes hammered the Boston Bruins 6-0 in Boston but lost to the Seattle Kraken. They beat the New York Rangers, 6-3, then lost to the New Jersey Devils. And there was that 6-0 whipping by Columbus at PNC Arena, where the Canes are 18-4-2 this season.
But there would be no letup Friday by the Canes, certainly not in the third period. Nino Niederreiter scored from behind the net, getting the good bounce. Vincent Trocheck took advantage of a loose play in the Columbus zone by the Blue Jackets, swooping in to grab the puck in the slot and rip one past Berube for the 4-0 lead.
The only question left was whether Andersen would pick up his third shutout of the season while earning his 28th win.
