Andersen makes 23 saves, Hurricanes blank Blue Jackets to keep pace in Metro

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Frederik Andersen made 23 saves, and the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-0 at PNC Arena on Sunday.

It was Andersen’s third shutout of the season and 27th in the NHL. 

“It is our goal every night to try and come in and play [the way] it makes us successful,” Andersen said. “Obviously, we have a lot of good players in this room who come ready to play.”

Andersen is 8-1-0 with a 1.22 goals-against average and .954 save percentage since returning on March 7 from a blood clotting issue that caused him to miss 50 games.

“He’s been real solid since he’s come back,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “He steadies it. He’s very calm back there, and that certainly helps.”

Teuvo Teravainen had a goal and an assist, and Andrei Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho scored for the Hurricanes (49-22-7), who have won four of their past five and are 10-2-1 in their past 13.

The Hurricanes remained five points behind the New York Rangers for first in the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-2 on Sunday.

“We’re trying to do our job, we’re trying to get ourselves going,” Teravainen said. “[Brind'Amour] mentioned that before the game, too, that we’ve just got to play ourselves today and be good, so we did that.”

Malcolm Subban made 32 saves for the Blue Jackets (26-40-12), who were coming off a 6-2 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.

“I thought I’d just go out there and try to have fun and obviously do my best to keep the team in the game,” said Subban, who was playing in his first NHL game since Jan. 2022. “I thought I settled in and calmed down and just got comfortable in there. It didn’t go our way tonight, but I thought the boys battled hard.”

The Hurricanes scored 17 seconds into the first period to take a 1-0 lead. Svechnikov took a pass from Jordan Martinook and beat Subban blocker side from the right face-off circle.

“It’s hard to start the game and the first shot you get scored on, but I thought [Subban] played well,” Columbus coach Pascal Vincent said. “They play a style that is very fast and they’re playing north. It’s a very good hockey team. We had some chances that went post and out instead of post and in.”

Svechnikov, who missed Carolina’s 4-2 win against the Washington Capitals on Friday because of an illness, had gone five games without a point.

“Obviously, a big goal. I got some confidence from that goal,” Svechnikov said. “It was a good game today. (I) just got to keep going and move that game to the playoffs.”

Aho made it 2-0 at 11:45 of the first with a power-play goal, scoring with a one-timer off a pass from Jake Guentzel.

Teravainen pushed it to 3-0 at 13:53 of the third period with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle.

NOTES: Guentzel extended his point streak to five games (three goals, six assists). He has 21 points (five goals, 16 assists) in 14 games since being acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 7. … Andersen is 294-127-52 in 494 NHL games, passing Braden Holtby for the most wins by a goalie in his first 500 games in NHL history.