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The Carolina Hurricanes opened the 2022-23 season with a win tonight, defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 in Raleigh.
ONE GAME, ONE WIN pic.twitter.com/Uz08T2Vovx
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) October 13, 2022
Only 11 seconds into the second period though, the Blue Jackets struck first when the Hurricanes couldn’t exit the zone and Patrik Laine wired a shot past Frederik Andersen to open the scoring. Andersen then had to be sharp on a few more chances soon after to prevent the Blue Jackets from taking a two-goal lead. A little later though, Seth Jarvis took a pass and went to the backhand to beat Daniil Tarasov to tie the game only about five minutes into the frame. Carolina then started to generate some momentum after that with a strong forecheck, keeping a lot of the play in the Blue Jackets’ end.
Columbus ended up with a power play later in the frame though and it looked like Cole Sillinger capitalized, getting through multiple Hurricanes and ripping a shot past Andersen. After a challenge by the Hurricanes, however, the goal was deemed offside and the game remained tied. The Hurricanes then generated some good chances late in the frame and with a minute and a half to go, Martin Necas found Brady Skjei, who one-timed a shot through traffic to give Carolina the lead.
The Hurricanes really took over in the final frame, outshooting Columbus 20-8. About 6:30 into the third period, Martin Necas scored to extend Carolina’s lead, after a great forecheck to strip the puck from Jakub Voracek. Then only a few minutes later, Andrei Svechnikov just threw the puck on net from the boards on a power play and it somehow got through Tarasov, with Carolina cruising to a 4-1 win from there.
The Hurricanes didn’t look great through the first half of the matchup but it was a really promising end to the game, with the Hurricanes dominating late. Carolina has such a fast team that when they use their speed, with the puck or away from it, they’re pretty difficult to stop.
Frederik Andersen looked great and had to make several key saves through the first 30 or 40 minutes just to keep the game close. The Hurricanes ended up outshooting Columbus by a 43-32 margin, but the Blue Jackets certainly could have taken a larger lead earlier in the game if not for Andersen.
Carolina’s top line did look good throughout the entire night, however. While some of the other lines struggled to generate any chances early on, Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen and Seth Jarvis were consistently creating pressure and spending time in the offensive zone.
It wasn’t a perfect outing but there’s a ton to like about the way Carolina finished the game. The Hurricanes will look to carry this momentum to San Jose on Friday, as Brent Burns faces his former team and the Hurricanes begin a five-game Western Conference road trip.
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