The Carolina Hurricanes are in search of back-to-back victories as they open a two-game road trip with a meeting with the host Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.
Carolina split a home-and-home with the New Jersey Devils last week and has two wins over its past five games (2-3-0). The Hurricanes, third in the Metropolitan Division, are 5-5-0 in their past 10.
The Hurricanes scored four straight third-period goals to top the Devils 5-2 on Saturday.
Jack Roslovic had two goals and an assist, Sebastian Aho had a goal and an assist and Jackson Blake had the go-ahead goal with 9:17 remaining in regulation. Dmitry Orlov also scored for Carolina, while Seth Jarvis chipped in three assists.
“I think just in general with the type of game and the way it was going — playing really well and not getting any results — is kind of the way it’s been going for us,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “I thought not changing our game, that was key. … I just liked the way we just kept playing our game and kind of got rewarded.”
Dustin Tokarski, who made 21 saves in the win over New Jersey on Saturday, is 2-1-0 in three games this season with a 2.35 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage.
In four career appearances against the Blue Jackets, Tokarski is 1-0-1 with a .886 save percentage and a 3.58 GAA.
Martin Necas leads the Hurricanes with 44 points (14 goals, 30 assists) in 36 games this season. Roslovic has a team-high 16 goals in 36 games.
Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere missed his first game of the season on Saturday due to an upper-body injury. He will be out “more than day-to-day,” according to Brind’Amour.
Tuesday is the third meeting of four between the clubs this season. The Blue Jackets edged the Hurricanes 5-4 in a shootout on Nov. 23, and Carolina picked up a 4-1 victory on Dec. 15.
Aho had two goals and one assist in the two games against Columbus, while Necas had three helpers.
Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko has two goals and one assist, Dmitri Voronkov has two markers and Kent Johnson has two helpers against Carolina this season.
Columbus begins a three-game homestand against Carolina, aiming to bounce back from a 4-0 blanking at the hands of the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
The loss snapped the Blue Jackets’ point streak at four games (3-0-1). Columbus is 3-4-3 over its past 10 games.
“I thought it was not a bad road game per se,” Blue Jackets forward Mathieu Olivier said of the contest with the Bruins. “Just every big mistake kind of ended up in the back of our net. …
“I didn’t think it was all that bad, just couldn’t get it going offensively, but whenever we gave up some goals it was kind of on us.”
Daniil Tarasov, who made his first start since Dec. 5, stopped 24 shots in the loss.
Tarasov, who has lost his past six starts, reportedly refused a recent conditioning assignment.
Elvis Merzlikins is expected to get the nod in net on Tuesday and is 11-9-3 in 23 games this season with a 3.09 GAA and a .890 save percentage. In nine career appearances against the Hurricanes, Merzlikins has a 4-3-1 record with a .914 save percentage and a 2.94 GAA.
Marchenko, who had his seven-game point streak (four goals, nine assists) snapped in the loss to the Bruins, leads the Blue Jackets with 40 points (14 goals, 26 assists) in 37 games this season.
–Field Level Media
