They could have used that one.
Ridly Greig had a goal and an assist, and Jake Sanderson scored the game-winner as the Ottawa Senators beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 on Saturday at Canadian Tire Centre.
Can’t Capitalize In Back-To-Back
The Blue Jackets came into their matchup with the Senators seeking their first three-game winning streak since winning four straight out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
Instead, Ottawa held off a late push by Columbus to claim its second straight victory and firm its grasp on the first Eastern Conference wild card spot.
Greig (12) opened the scoring to give Ottawa the early 1-0 lead at 7:24 of the first period. Thomas Chabot (29) and Shane Pinto (13) assisted on the goal.
It's the ninth straight game the Blue Jackets have allowed the first goal.
Drake Batherson (21) added on at 14:08 to give the Senators a 2-1 lead. Dylan Cozens (26) and Artem Zub (9) got the assists.
Sanderson (8) scored at 9:17 of the second period to extend the lead to 3-1. The goal wound up being the game-winner as Pinto (14) picked up his second assist and Greig (16) added his second point of the game.
Columbus falls to 1-9 in the second of back-to-backs this season.
Tarasov started for the first time since March 15 and made 24 saves on 27 shots. He's 7-9-2 this season with a .882 save percentage and 3.49 goals against average. Since Jan. 14, Tarasov is 4-3-1, .913, 2.59. Linus Ullmark made 29 saves on 31 shots.
Not Enough Punch
It was only a matter of time before the captain, Boone Jenner, got hot in the goal-scoring department.
His first-period goal at 7:55 tied the score 1-1 and came 31 seconds after Greig's tally to open the game's scoring. Jenner is on a four-game goal streak and point streak (five goals, one assist). Assists went to Zach Werenski (51) and Denton Mateychuk (6).
Werenski has points in consecutive games (three assists) for the first time since March 9-11. The 7-3 win on March 9 over the New York Rangers was his most recent multi-point game before tonight when he had two assists. Then he had an assist in the 5-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils.
Boone Jenner stays hot and picks up the equalizer just 31 seconds after Ottawa scores the opening goal of the game. #CBJpic.twitter.com/BDEgSaAuCf
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) March 29, 2025
Kirill Marchenko tallied his team-leading 28th in the third period at 11:02 to make it a 3-2 game and extend his three-game point streak (three goals, one assist). Werenski added his second helper for 52 on the season.
Marchenko doing Marchenko things here. Just a sick goal to bring the #CBJ to within a goal. 3-2 Ottawa with 5:54 left and a huge next few minutes here for the Blue Jackets.pic.twitter.com/Dsai5QSvtL
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) March 30, 2025
While the Jackets didn't have enough offensive punch for this one, Marchenko showed some of that energy against Brady Tkachuk after Tkachuk gave Sean Monahan a slight hit into the boards. Tkachuk got a roughing minor against Marchenko.
Brady Tkachuk pic.twitter.com/nw1IyeRcEi
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 29, 2025
In the end, the Jackets just couldn't get one more for the tie as they came up short 3-2.
#CBJ head coach Dean Evason on tonight's loss in Ottawa: "That was a great game. Both teams played hard, played fast. Certainly the start was fantastic, the pace of the game. Everybody was playing their butts off. We had lots of chances, certainly in the third period and at the
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) March 30, 2025
The Race Is On
The loss, coupled with wins from those around them in the race for the second wild-card spot, has dropped the Blue Jackets outside the playoff picture.
The Rangers beat the San Jose Sharks 6-1 to move two points ahead of Columbus and back into the second wild card. The Montreal Canadiens have the same number of points as Columbus (75) but sit ahead of the Jackets.
With 10 games in April left in the season, Columbus faces the Nashville Predators on Tuesday and the Colorado Avalanche next Thursday at Nationwide Arena. Then they travel to Toronto on Saturday and Ottawa on Sunday, April 6.
Take Care Of Business
Columbus will host the Predators, who are already eliminated from playoff contention, on Tuesday, April 1 at 7 p.m. ET.
