Hurricanes try to continue road success vs. Blue Jackets

The Carolina Hurricanes have found some of their best work has come in road games across the past couple of months.

So they shouldn't shy away from the next assignment when they play the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

Carolina is 11-1-2 in its last 14 road games.

"In order to win you have to play a certain way," coach Rod Brind'Amour said, pointing to the focus that has been displayed in some difficult road tasks.

The Hurricanes have won consecutive road games since an 8-1 home loss last Friday to the Winnipeg Jets. After this stop in Columbus, the Hurricanes have a five-game homestand.

Carolina has relied on steady goaltending, with Petr Mrazek on a recent roll. In his last six appearances, he's 6-0 with a 1.66 goals against average, including a 3-0 victory Monday night at Colorado.

"A big win for us at this time of year," Brind'Amour said.

If Mrazek is used in the Columbus game, it will mark only the third time this season he appears in three straight games.

Things have been adding up for the Hurricanes. They have 83 team points, matching last season's total -- and yet there are 13 regular-season games remaining.

The Blue Jackets have been shut out three times this month, but then they showed offensive muscle in Tuesday night's 7-4 victory against the Boston Bruins.

"It's funny how it works sometimes," said Blue Jackets center Boone Jenner, who had his first NHL hat trick in the Boston game. "When you go through a little stretch like that when you're not scoring, I think you can get caught up in it and thinking about it too much."

The Blue Jackets realize it takes time for some of the parts to mesh together.

"A little bit snake-bitten, I think we all were," said Columbus center Ryan Dzingel, who arrived a trade from Ottawa a few weeks ago.

It has been seasons of fluctuation for Columbus defenseman Zach Werenski. He said he's trying to find a stable role across the final weeks of the season.

"It was kind of up and down," Werenski said. "I'm finding that balance and it's the right time to find it."

After Friday for Columbus, there's a four-game road trip that begins with Saturday's rematch at Boston. There's a confidence coming from the Blue Jackets that they've had the right approach even if some of the recent results have been out of the norm.

"You just have to play the same way," Jenner said. "The results will come from there."

The Hurricanes had concern about defenseman Calvin de Haan, who suffered a scary injury to his right eye Monday when he was hit by the blade of a stick. He was out of the hospital in time to return home with the team.

"His eye is responding as we would hope," team president and general manager Don Waddell said. "We are optimistic that he will make a normal recovery without restrictions to his ability to play hockey in the near future."

The Hurricanes recalled defenseman Haydn Fleury from Charlotte of the American Hockey League. He has one assist in 14 NHL games this season.

Meanwhile, Carolina winger Micheal Ferland, who has been out for about a week with an upper-body injury, might be ready to return, Brind'Amour said.

--Field Level Media

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