Columbus Blue Jackets lose to Carolina in Seven

Round one comes to an end...

Battle in the Metro

Round one presented the Carolina Hurricanes for the Blue Jackets; a team that finished equal in points (107) and a division rival.  Game one was decided in overtime, with Carolina's E. Lindholm scoring the game winner at 8:54.  Game two swung the other way, with the Blue Jackets winning by one in regulation time.  In game three, Columbus' goalie J. Korpisalo showed some signs of fatigue; letting in 4 goals in 8 shots and was pulled and replaced by backup Zach Fucale.  Columbus lost game three by a score of 6-1.  Game four, Columbus was outplayed for most of the game, however Korpisalo rebounded and had a great game.  Columbus won game four by a final score of 3-2.  In game five, Columbus had a strong game; exchanging opportunities shot for shot with the Hurricanes.  It was Columbus that would get the extra goal, winning by a final of 5-4.  Game six was another wash for Columbus, as they were not prepared and were totally nullified by the Hurricanes.  This leads to game seven, winner takes the series.  The Hurricanes were the better team and dominated play, if it was not for Korpisalo, this game could have gotten out of hand.  Final score... 2-1 for the Hurricanes.  

So ends the season for the Columbus Blue Jackets.  With a number of free agents and a prospect pool lacking in potential, this will be an interesting year for the team.  Will Korpisalo get re-signed with the team?  How about J. Staal? What happened to Seth Jones and the offense we saw during the regular season?  There were definitely some high paid players (Monahan, Savard, Werenski and others) who did not show up in clutch situations.

Best of luck to the Hurricanes.