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The Carolina Hurricanes overcame a four-goal deficit to pick up their fourth win in a row, defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-4 today.
In the first period, Zach Werenski opened the scoring for the Blue Jackets, taking a pass from Jack Roslovic before going to the backhand and beating Antti Raanta. Despite the Hurricanes putting some good pressure on the Blue Jackets after that, a little later in the frame, Gustav Nyquist got a pass to Adam Boqvist on a rush and he beat Raanta as well. Carolina continued to press and got a great chance to cut the lead in half with a late power play, but Alexandre Texier got a puck to Nyquist going the other way and he beat Raanta for a shorthanded goal to extend the lead to 3-0.
Despite the Hurricanes leaving the frame down 3-0, the score didn’t really represent what was happening. Carolina had controlled a good portion of the play and were leading in shots 18-9 but Columbus was able to convert on three quick chances.
Frederik Andersen entered the game in the second period but Columbus continued to extend their lead, as Texier put a puck in off Ian Cole on a rush to make it a 4-0 game. The Hurricanes would get one back right away though, as Tony DeAngelo’s point shot was tipped in by Steven Lorentz. Carolina continued to climb back a little later, as Andrei Svechnikov got a pass to Brady Skjei and he beat Daniil Tarasov to make it 4-2 before the end of the second frame.
Tarasov left the game with an injury at the intermission, meaning Elvis Merzlikins was called into action. After Carolina continued to get shots on net through the beginning of the third period, the Hurricanes cut the lead to 4-3 as Brady Skjei picked up his second goal of the game.
The Hurricanes built great pressure after that and just a few minutes later the Hurricanes completed the comeback, as the puck took an unexpected bounce off the glass and popped right out to Nino Niederreiter, who caught Merzlikins off guard to score. Then just 16 seconds later, Ethan Bear gave Carolina a 5-4 lead, putting a point shot through traffic, which found its way in. The ridiculous string of goals continued a minute after that, as Steven Lorentz scored his second goal of the game, burying a shot in-close to make it a two-goal Hurricanes’ lead.
After going up, the Hurricanes didn’t look back. They continued to pressure and kept a lot of the play in the Blue Jackets’ end, rather than stepping back and playing conservatively. It resulted in just about no offense for Columbus in the last five minutes, as the Hurricanes picked up an empty net goal and held on for the win.
All I can say is what a game for the Hurricanes. Despite controlling a lot of the play early on they were sloppy defensively and found themselves in a huge hole. They managed to keep the momentum though and continued pressing, never taking their foot off the gas. The entire team chipped in to mount the comeback and there was a level of intensity and urgency from every player on the team.
The Hurricanes’ next game comes on January 7 against the Calgary Flames.
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SuperSurvey 
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • 
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