The Hurricanes bring a 10-2-2 record and a 19-point goal differential into Lenovo Center, while Columbus arrives on a two-game winning streak.
Carolina has 22 points through 14 games and sits second in the power index; Columbus is 5-5-0 with 10 points and ranks 26th. Both teams are riding two-game streaks and went 3-2 across their last five, so the key contrast is Carolina’s stronger season-long profile against Columbus’s recent momentum. Sebastian Aho leads the Hurricanes with 19 points in 14 games, while Kent Johnson tops Columbus with nine points in 10. The listed goalie numbers favor Carolina, with Pyotr Kochetkov at a .918 save percentage against Cam Talbot’s .892; finishing chances and getting timely saves could decide whether Columbus’s surge holds up on the road.