Blue Jackets Bounce Back To Sink Senators 4-2 In Fourth Win In Six Contests

By Coby Maeir on December 1, 2023 at 9:52 pm
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski (8) follows though on a shot against the Ottawa Senators during the second period at Nationwide Arena.
Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports
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Behind 41 saves from Elvis Merzlikins, the Blue Jackets bounced back in a big way, beating the Ottawa Senators 4-2 

  1 2 3 F
BLUE JACKETS 2 2 0 4
OTT SENATORS 2 0 0 2

1st Period

Ottawa had several A+ chances to open the scoring on the power play from the 3:20 mark to the 3:35 mark but were denied either by Merzlikins or blocked by Jake Bean or Zach Werenski.

Following a Patrik Laine turnover at the Ottawa blueline, Brady Tkachuk found Claude Giroux on a two-on-rush that led to Giroux scoring a backhand goal at 8:43.

Ottawa doubled it's lead on the power play at 11:08 when Tkachuk fired a one-timer from the right circle past Merzlikins.

Laine made up for his earlier misakte at 14:53 when he ripped a power-play wrist shot past Joonas Korpisalo from the top of the right circle to cut Columbus' deficit in half. 

The Blue Jackets tied the game at 15:36 when Dmitri Voronkov stole the puck from Thomas Chabot in the right circle and beat Korpisalo with a wrist shot. 

The teams were tied at two after the first period with Ottawa taking a 16-11 advantage in shots on goal into the second period. 

2nd Period

Adam Fantilli gave the Blue Jackets the lead at 5:16 when he deflected Ivan Provorov's left-point wrist shot past Korpisalo.

Boone Jenner doubled Columbus' lead on the power play at 8:54 when he deflected Werenski's shot from the top of the point. 

Mathieu Joseph nearly cut the Ottawa deficit in half at 13:20 but his breakaway bid was denied by Merzlikins.

Vladimir Tarasenko had a late chance to score at 18:14 when his shot from the right doorstep nearly trickled into the net but Merzlikins was able to keep it from crossing the line along with the help of Bean.

The Blue Jackets led 4-2 after two periods while trailing 27-16 in shots on goal. 

3rd Period

No goals were scored in the third period, but there were several post-whistle scrums, highlighted by the one shown in the embedded video below when Yegor Chinakhov whacked Tim Stutzle at 4:54.

With the win, the Blue Jackets improved to 8-13-4.

Stats

  • Shots on Goal: OTT 43-23 CBJ
  • Face-off %: OTT 55.8-44.2 CBJ
  • Power play: OTT 1/5-2/2 CBJ
  • Giveaways: OTT 0-0 CBJ
  • Takeaways: OTT 3-11 CBJ
  • Blocked shots: OTT 11-17 CBJ
  • Hits: OTT 12-22 CBJ
  • 5-on-5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
    • Expected Goals (xG): OTT 1.66-1.03 CBJ
    • Shot Attempts (CF): OTT 42-35 CBJ
    • Shots on Goal (SF): OTT 22-16 CBJ
    • Scoring Chances (SCF): MTL 14-16 CBJ
    • High-Danger Chances (HDCF): MTL 9-4 CBJ

Injury Update

Damon Severson was placed on IR retroactive to Nov. 19 and will miss approximately six weeks with an oblique injury. Jack Roslovic has been on IR since Nov. 13 with a fractured ankle that will sideline him for four to six weeks. Cole Sillinger is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. 

Next Up

The Blue Jackets will travel to Boston to play the Bruins on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.

The club will return home and welcome Pierre-Luc Dubois, Vladislav Gavrikov, and the Los Angeles Kings to town on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.

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