Game Preview: On Longest Losing Skid Of The Season, Carolina Visits Columbus For The Second Time In Less Than A Week

CAROLINA HURRICANES

25-9-7 (57 points; .695%) ROSTER / SCHEDULE

7:00 P.M. – THURSDAY, JANUARY 12 NATIONWIDE ARENA COLUMBUS, OH

TELEVISION: Bally Sports Ohio ESPN+ (Out of Market)

The Columbus Blue Jackets have just one win in their last five games — a shootout victory Saturday over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Five days later, the Hurricanes come back to Nationwide Arena looking for a measure of revenge. 

Both teams have played one game since Saturday; the Blue Jackets fell 6-3 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night in Florida, while the Hurricanes extended their losing streak to four games with a 5-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils that same night.

Here's what to know when the Hurricanes blow into Nationwide Arena for the final time this season: 

TALKING POINTS: CANES

• The Hurricanes are, in a word, weird. Their current losing streak comes after winning 11 straight and 15 out of 16. Before that though, they had a season-high five game losing streak. So that's nine straight losses with a 15-1-0 record sandwiched in between. Completely normal. 
   
• The Hurricanes have five short-handed goals this season, but two of them came in Tuesday's loss to the Devils. Carolina killed all four New Jersey power play opportunities in the game — a step in the right direction after allowing six power play goals in the three games prior.
   
• In Saturday's match-up, Carolina outshot Columbus 42-18. Carolina leads the league in shots per game, Columbus sits in 28th. The Hurricanes are also best in the league in shots allowed, while Columbus ranks 31st. The unstoppable force meets the really easy-to-move object.

CBJ STORYLINES

• ICE TIME ISSUES
  Who's on the ice and how much has been a topic throughout the season, but Johnny Gaudreau's lack of minutes has raised questions. He had just 13 minutes of even-strength time on ice, which ranked 9th of the 12 Columbus forwards. It raises an eyebrow, but it is worth noting that Gaudreau has just one goal in his last 13 games, a span of 232 minutes, 31 seconds of ice time. Gaudreau's ice time bears keeping an eye on over the next several games.
   
• KIRILL THRILLS
  Kirill Marchenko is showing potential to be an absolute stud. The 22-year-old rookie picked up his ninth goal of the season in Tuesday's loss, which came one game after his first career hat trick. Marchenko is just two goals off the team lead, despite playing in less than half the games (17) as Gaudreau (40), who leads the team with 11. Still looking for that first assist, though.
   
• ANOTHER GAME, ANOTHER INJURY
  While he doesn't have a significant role, the club's announcement that forward Carson Meyer would miss six-to-eight weeks with an oblique injury. The Blue Jackets have been decimated with injuries this season (a familiar trend over the last number of years), and Meyer is one of what is now 12 men on the injury report. Staying healthy seems to be a good enough win these days.
   

PROJECTED LINES
Updated: 7:05 a.m. // Subject to Change