After 40 minutes, the Blue Jackets and Carolina Hurricanes went to their locker rooms knotted 1-1 on Dec. 9 at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.
It felt like the Hurricanes led 5-1 or 6-1 after they dominated the Jackets for the preceding 12:01, outshooting them 11-0 and tying the game on Seth Jarvis’s goal in that stretch.
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More: Hurricanes finish strong to deal Blue Jackets a third straight loss
Jarvis scored after Blue Jackets defenseman Ivan Provorov was hauled down without a whistle in his own zone, which should be noted since one of the referees, Brandon Schaefer, had just worked the Blue Jackets’ controversial 7-6 overtime loss Dec. 6 at the Florida Panthers, which prompted coach Dean Evason’s postgame assessment that he’d just witnessed “a joke,” of a game.
The Hurricanes would’ve won going away regardless, though.
Dec 9, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Hurricanes defenseman K’Andre Miller (19) and Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Miles Wood (11) battle over the puck during the second period at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images
The joke’s on the Blue Jackets (13-11-6) seemingly every time they go to Raleigh, and this time it was their third straight road loss in four days. After watching them lose to the Panthers in a circus-like atmosphere a day before Washington Capitals goalie Logan Thompson shut them out Dec. 7 at Capital One Arena, those who watch this team regularly knew exactly how this movie would end.
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After putting up a fight early and getting dominated to end the second, they’d crumble in the third after falling behind on a goal by somebody who used to play for the Blue Jackets. That’s exactly what happened, of course, right down to Eric Robinson scoring the winner to give the Hurricanes their first lead, 2-1.
Robinson, who began his career with the Blue Jackets, did the honors to give his side a lead that Carolina had no problems converting into a victory. No overtime was necessary. No shootout.
Novel concept, yeah?
Unlike their Columbus counterparts, who’ve now lost nine games in which they’ve held a lead and blown 10 third period leads, the Hurricanes know how to win. They’re bigger, stronger, more aggressive and willing to apply all of those edges under hard-nosed coach Rod Brind’Amour.
Dec 9, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Brandon Bussi (32) and left wing William Carrier (28) watch the shot against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the second period at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images
It hasn’t paid off in a Stanley Cup, but it’s a style that works glowingly in the regular season. The Blue Jackets, meanwhile, get a lot of goals from defensemen shooting from above the circles, have some skilled forwards who skate fast and still resort to counter attacks while getting pushed around by bigger, stronger and meaner teams like Florida, Washington and Carolina.
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That was obvious on this road trip, and it’s probably time for somebody within the Blue Jackets’ inner circle to peel some paint off the walls, whether it’s players, coaches, management or all three. More than one-third of the season is gone already, and they’re stuck in the Metropolitan Division’s basement with the division’s worst goal differential (-12).
After the game, they talked about how good they played against the Hurricanes until, of course, the Jet Greaves Damn finally broke under an avalanche of Hurricanes pressure. Speaking of avalanches … remember this one?
There’s still time for the Jackets to get their issues straightened out, which is the bright side, but it’s getting late early in Columbus.
Here are more takeaways:
The Hurricanes, as they usually do against the Blue Jackets in Raleigh, toyed with their meal before finally devouring it in the third period.
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They hounded pucks all night, dominated possession time with grit and size, kept their own end clean except for the occasional counterattack, forced their own counterattacks off turnovers and made the Blue Jackets follow the puck around like kittens chasing a laser pointer.
According to Natural Stat Trick, the Hurricanes finished with 5-on-5 advantages in attempts (55% to 45%), unblocked attempts (58% to 42%), shots (56% to 44%), scoring chances (60% to 40%), high-danger chances (57% to 43%) and goals (2-0). Carolina also dominated faceoffs (57% to 43%), which contributed to their ownership of the puck, but the bigger issue was between the ears.
The Hurricanes are a physical team that looks to crush opposing players with body checks to win puck battles and take a toll on teams in third periods. It’s a mentality. They grind teams to the final horn, win or lose.
Dec 9, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Hurricanes left wing Eric Robinson (50) checks Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Dante Fabbro (15) during the third period at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images
The Blue Jackets lean heavily on skill players, which tends to fail against good defensive teams. They finished with 14 hits, but the Hurricanes dished out 19, including a bone-jarring smash by Jordan Martinook that sent Blue Jackets star Zach Werenski to the ice behind his own net.
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The Jackets are sorely missing power forward Mathieu Olivier and gritty defenseman Erik Gudbranson, two of the toughest players in the NHL, but even their eventual returns won’t hide the blemish of a roster that’s either too dinged up, not physically capable or unwilling to physically win possession battles.
Until that changes, the Blue Jackets will get pounded, repeatedly, by the Hurricanes, Panthers, Capitals, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers and any other team built to utilize size, strength and snarl as precursors to their skill.
Dec 9, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; aCarolina Hurricanes left wing Taylor Hall (71) shot is stopped by Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves (73) during the second period t Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images
After finishing last season 13-10-3 against Metropolitan Division opponents to improve a glaring weakness, the Blue Jackets are back to struggling against their neighborly foes. Losing to the Hurricanes dropped them to 2-6-2 against division teams, whom they play most often.
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It’s not a new phenomenon. Since 2021-22, the Blue Jackets are 38-64-12 against the Metro while going 41-50-14 against the Atlantic Division and 63-59-17 against the Western Conference.
Western teams only play the Jackets twice, so they’re typically less familiar with their players, structures and strategies. They’re also inclined to start backup goalies since the points at stake aren’t as meaningful as those against teams from the West. The Blue Jackets get the same familiarity advantage against Eastern teams, but it often doesn’t matter because they can’t fully utilize that edge while facing disadvantages in size, strength and playing style within their division.
Dec 9, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Hurricanes left wing William Carrier (28) and Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski (8) battle over the puck during the third period at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images
Zach Werenski beat goalies with regularity, so seeing him score isn’t a rarity.
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Watching him accidentally beat his own goalie, however, was interesting. Midway through the first, the Blue Jackets’ star had the puck to the left of Greaves while assessing exit pass options. The puck took a weird hop off his blade, slid between Greaves’ skates and clanked off the right post before sliding back into the blue paint.
Greaves swatted it away, but the Hurricanes would’ve scored the game’s first goal on a nightmarish own goal by Werenski had the puck slid into the net. It was another prime example of hockey’s weird, fascinating bounces.
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: It’s getting late early for the Blue Jackets: Takeaways