The Columbus Blue Jackets look to end a four-game losing streak as they battle the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night at 7 p.m. EST.

The Blue Jackets are 38-25-12 and fourth in the Metropolitan Division. They are a point back for third place in the division and only have a two-point lead for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Columbus just lost to the Hurricanes at home 5-2. The Blue Jackets were down 2-0 early, slowly tied things up early in the third period, but then gave up the next three goals. Columbus outhit Carolina 23-18, but lost in shots 33-25 and in faceoffs 37-24. The power play was 0-for-3 and the penalty kill was 2-for-5 on stops. Kirill Marchenko was the second star of the game with one goal and one assist.

The Hurricanes are 47-21-6 and first in the Metropolitan Division. They have an eight-point lead for first in the division race and are tied for the best record in the Eastern Conference with the Buffalo Sabres. In that Blue Jackets game, the Canes did well, scoring early on the power play and scoring in bunches. They were able to score on most of their Grade A chances and didn't give the puck away too much. Carolina got two of the three star spots. Nikolaj Ehlers was the first star of the game with one goal and two assists. Andrei Svechnikov was the third star with one goal and one assist.

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Note: The above data was collected on April 2, 2026, and may have changed since writing.

Columbus Blue Jackets 

Carolina Hurricanes 

Columbus is 17th in scoring, tied for 16th in goals against, 18th on the power play, and 26th on the penalty kill. Zach Werenski leads the team in assists and points. The Blue Jackets are 18-15-4 on the road and 5-4-1 in their last 10 games. Columbus is in a tight playoff race and desperate to end their four-game skid. They have been aggressive in games, but have struggled with late-game execution. Three of the last four losses have been by a goal and they haven't scored more than four goals in a game in six straight games.

Carolina is fourth in scoring, eighth in goals against, fifth on the power play, and 12th on the penalty kill. Seth Jarvis leads the team in goals. The Hurricanes are 26-10-2 at home and 6-4 in their last 10 games. In their last 30ish games, the Canes have converted on 31.0% of their power play chances and this showed in the last game against Columbus, when they scored three of them. The last few games, the Hurricanes have been in a bit of a win-loss mode and in some high-scoring games or one-sided ones. They lead the season series against the Blue Jackets 2-1.

Best Bet: Over

The Blue Jackets' defense is trending down and they need the offense to get going if they want to take down the Canes. Carolina is trying to keep pace for the one seed in the conference and will look to keep the power play goals coming.