Columbus Blue Jackets dampen Carolina Hurricanes playoff hopes with 5-1 win -NHL Update
No matter how hard Carolina tries sometimes, it seems that their always appears to be some hurdle in the way. This time it was the Columbus team as Blue Jackets dampened the Hurricanes hopes of a last minute playoff push with a dominating, 5-1, win on Friday
night, March 23, 2012, at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
RJ Umberger became the leading force for Columbus as he potted three goals, earning his third career hat trick which was his first in nearly three years.
"We've taken a lot of flak the last six games for not scoring any goals," Umberger. "Honestly, I felt like one of these nights was coming because we've had a lot of chances. I know myself I've had chance after chance. We just weren't scoring goals. Tonight
it just seemed like everything lined up right."
Vinny Prospal got the scoring started with his 13th of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season 6:50 into the first. He was followed by R.J Umberger in round-two on the power play with Tuomo Ruutu out for interference.
Drayson Bowman added Carolina’s only goal of the night followed by another from Umberger at 14:36.
Umberger and Mark Letestu secured the match with two more consecutive Columbus goals, making it 5-1 by the 16:45 mark in round-three.
Columbus has shown the need for a spark somewhere during a contest, which they obviously have not managed to find as much this season but in this game, it was their first power play goal.
"The first one, getting a goal on the power play, was sort of a breath of fresh air for us," Umberger said. "It's been tough to get one lately. We haven't been converting. I think the whole team felt good when that one went in."
Columbus will stay at home to face an equally struggling team, Edmonton Oilers on Sunday.
Carolina Hurricanes on the other hand, continue with their three-game road trip, with the next being against Detroit Red Wings on Saturday. They could possible see a rebound in performance if they manage to take advantage of Detroit’s slumping situation.
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