Carolina Hurricanes (7-2-0) at Columbus Blue Jackets (5-5-3)
Let’s get one thing square right off the bat: both the Carolina Hurricanes and the Columbus Blue Jackets got screwed by NHL decision makers yesterday. To wit: Nino Niederreiter somehow was assessed a fighting penalty even though he didn’t even remove his gloves, never mind throwing an actual punch.
The Blue Jackets, though, have a right to be the more furious party, and their justified irritation probably only became more pronounced when they found out the story behind the story, as reported by Aaron Portzline of The Athletic earlier today.