Game Preview: Columbus, Ottawa Face Off Friday Night In Rubber Match Of Season Series

OTTAWA SENATORS

29–41–7 (65 points; .422%) LINE: CBJ -115

7:00 P.M. – FRIDAY, APRIL 22ND NATIONWIDE ARENA COLUMBUS, OH

Bally Sports Ohio ESPN+ (Out of Network)

For the final time on a Friday night this season, the Columbus Blue Jackets drop the puck on home ice when they face the Ottawa Senators in the rubber match between the two teams.

The Senators picked up a 2-1 victory in Columbus earlier in the season, with the Blue Jackets returning the favor with a 4-1 win north of the border last month.

Ottawa's trip to Nationwide Arena is the third and final game of a road trip that started in the pacific northwest with a loss to the Seattle Kraken and continued with a shootout victory of the Vancouver Canucks. Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets are back home after a winless California swing that featured a pair of one-goal losses.

For Columbus, this will likely be the final time this season they are the betting favorites. The Edmonton Oilers are in town Sunday, and the season wraps up next week with a home-and-home against the Tampa Bay Lightning and a season finale in Pittsburgh against the Penguins.

RE: SENS

Despite the Senators being 12 games below .500 on the season, goalie (and former Blue Jacket) Anton Forsberg continues to have an impressive season for Ottawa. He's built a winning record of 19-17-4 to pair with a .917 save percentage and 2.79 goals against average, nearly a half goal lower than Ottawa's team average of 3.23. 

Forsberg has been one of a few bright spots for the franchise, who long ago locked up their fifth consecutive losing season. Brady Tkachuk, the 22-year-old and fourth overall pick in the 2018 draft, has career-highs in goals and points already. He doesn't lead the team in goals (with 28, he's five behind center and occasional linemate Joshua Norris) or assists (second-year player Tim Stutzle has 33), but Tkachuk's 60 points on the season is a team high and continues to be a sign that Ottawa be in better position moving forward than they are in at the present time.

STORYLINES

• BJORK BACK ON TRACK
  Oliver Bjorkstrand is in a rut. He's went ten straight games without picking up a point, more than twice as many games as any previous scoreless streak he's had this season. Whether it's a brilliant power play goal or a secondary assist, there's no doubt that Bjorkstrand desperately wants to get back on the scoresheet. 
   
• KEN'T'S FIRST GOAL?
  We're all waiting on it. After going scoreless in his first three games — but looking better and getting closer in every game — Kent Johnson finally broke through with his first NHL point Tuesday night, picking up an assist on a Jack Roslovic goal. With his first point now in the past, the Blue Jackets fifth overall pick last summer can set his sights on his next first. 
   

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