Blue Jackets drop opener at Carolina by 4-1 final

The Blue Jackets began their 22nd season with
a 4-1 loss at Carolina on Wednesday night
. After Patrik Laine's goal opened the scoring in the first, the Hurricanes -- aided by an upper-body injury that knocked Laine out of the game as well as a CBJ goal that was overturned for offsides -- scored four straight times to pull away to the win.
Columbus now returns home for the first game of the year inside Nationwide Arena on Friday night vs. Tampa Bay.

Game In Five Minutes

Three Trending Topics

1. First off, the injury to Laine -- suffered when he was ridden into the wall by Carolina defenseman Brett Pesce and his right arm bent awkwardly against the glass -- put quite a damper on the opening night proceedings, and the Jackets have to hope Laine won't be out too long. The CBJ top line of Laine and Johnny Gaudreau flanking Boone Jenner in the middle was off to an impressive start, with Laine's snipe just 11 seconds into the second period giving Columbus a 1-0 lead. That line appeared to be getting into a groove when Laine suffered the injury, as Columbus had a 5-1 edge in the game in shots on goal at 5-on-5 when that trio was on the ice.
   Once Laine left, a rotating cast including youngsters Cole Sillinger and Yegor Chinakhov was grouped with Gaudreau at times, but it wasn't quite the same.
   "I mean, it sucks," Gaudreau said. "You never want someone to get hurt. You are on a new team, you're building chemistry with your linemates, you think you had a good camp, and then you're not playing together in the middle of the second period. Hopefully it's nothing too serious."
   The Jackets did not have an update on Laine's injury after the game; the team was 10-14-2 without him a season ago.
   2. There was some good news to take out of the game for the Jackets, including the incredible move by Sillinger on his goal that was taken off the board, plus a solid game out of the top pair of Zach Werenski and Adam Boqvist. But the biggest positive had to be the play of Daniil Tarasov, the 23-year-old netminder who made just his fourth NHL start with Elvis Merzlikins unable to go because of illness.
   Tarasov stopped 39 of Carolina's 43 shots on goal in his first game since Jan. 1, when he suffered a hip injury that required season-ending surgery. "I feel good," he said after. "I'm really happy I'm back."
   Brad Larsen was pleased with the overall performance by the young Russian given the stress Carolina puts on opposing goalies. "I thought he did a good job," the head coach said. "Other than the fourth goal -- I don't think he liked that one -- but I thought he was pretty good tonight."
   3. The Hurricanes are known for their aggressive style and for throwing pucks toward the net, but some of the numbers in this game were just silly. The Canes finished with 96 shot attempts overall, 84 of them coming at 5-on-5. For comparison's sake, no NHL team finished with 84 shot attempts at 5-on-5 in any game last season. A full 50 of those shot attempts were by defensemen, which is an insanely high number, though just 19 of those ended up on net.
   The Canes dominated in the face-off circle, winning 61 percent of draws, and from there they were firing. Eventually, they wore down the Jackets, posting 25 shot attempts in the first period, 32 in the second and 39 in the third. Carolina is a good team and found a gear the Jackets will have to learn to match.
   "Through two periods, we're out-chancing them," Larsen said. "It's (even) in shots. We're in great shape, and then they took over. The third period, they came, and we just didn't have a response."

Quote Of The Game

"It was a sweet non-goal." -- Gaudreau on Sillinger's power-play goal in the second period that would have given the Jackets a 2-1 lead had it not been overturned by an offsides call. Sillinger spun past two defenders at the blue line before wristing a shot past Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen, but it was for naught after the Hurricanes challenged.

Stats Of Note

• When it comes to the analytics, Carolina had a 3.77-2.75 edge in expected goals (a measure of shot quantity and quality) in all situations and a 3.16-2.58 edge at 5-on-5 per Natural Stat Trick. Carolina also had an edge of 14-8 in high-danger chances at 5-on-5.
• Columbus' power play had two opportunities -- both after Laine left the lineup -- but went scoreless on the night. The Blue Jackets had one shot on goal on those opportunities.
• The CBJ fourth line had a combined 12 hits, with Eric Robinson leading the way with six, Mathieu Olivier adding four and Sean Kuraly finishing with two.
• A very Boone Jenner night from the captain -- five shots on goal, two hits, two blocked shots, and a 15-11 mark at the faceoff dot in 19:23.
• A very Justin Danforth night from Justin Danforth also included five shots on goal among his seven shot attempts as well as two hits.
• Unfortunately for the Jackets, players who weren't Jenner won just 15 of 51 faceoffs.
• Gaudreau, Olivier and defenseman Erik Gudbranson were the three players to make their CBJ debuts. They became the 315th, 316th and 317th players in team history.

Being Social

Family and Blue Jackets hockey, what a combination.

The 5th Line showed up in Carolina.

The new blue pants to be worn this season with road jerseys seemed to be a hit among CBJ fans.

What can't Stinger do?