The Blue Jackets’ woes in third periods remain issue, whether they’re leading or tied.
Once again, a tight game in the third turned into a 4-1 rout for the Carolina Hurricanes that handed the Jackets a frustrating finale to an ugly road trip Dec. 9 at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. After taking a 1-0 lead on Dmitri Voronkov’s power-play goal in the first, the Blue Jackets (13-11-6) leaned too heavily on goalie Jet Greaves (27 saves) and cracked under the Hurricanes’ domination in the third.
Eric Robinson, who started his NHL career with the Blue Jackets, buried a shot under the crossbar off a pass from Taylor Hall at 7:53 of the third to break a 1-1 tie and give the Hurricanes (18-9-2) a 2-1 lead. Unlike Columbus, which had blown 10 third period leads in its first 28 games, Carolina made it stand up for 27-year old rookie goalie Brandon Bussi’s ninth win in 10 starts.
Jordan Staal’s power-play goal made it 3-1 with 6:22 left in the third and the Hurricanes cruised to a victory that included Jordan Martinook scoring the game’s final goal into an empty net with 1:15 left.
The Blue Jackets lost all three games on a road trip that began with a wild 7-6 overtime loss Dec. 6 at the Florida Panthers in which they lost three separate leads, including 4-1 in the second period and 6-4 in the third. They were also shut out 2-0 by the Washington Capitals’ Logan Thompson on Dec. 7 at Capital One Arena before coming to Raleigh to take their usual pounding from the Hurricanes.
The Blue Jackets, who will start a four-game homestand Dec. 11 against the Ottawa Senators, are stuck in last place of the Metropolitan Division and have a -12 goal differential that’s also worst in their division. They’re now 7-8-3 in road games and 2-6-2 against their division./
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social