| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
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1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
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2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
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CBJ GOALS: |
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Goals from Boone Jenner and Kirill Marchenko weren't enough for the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.
Ottawa took a lead just over seven minutes into the game, putting the Blue Jackets in an early hole. Jenner would answer just 31 seconds later, tying the game at 1-1 and giving the captain a goal in his fourth consecutive game.
The Senators would score again before the period was up to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. They extended their lead to 3-1 in the middle of the second period and would hold a two-goal lead through forty minutes as a result of some stingy defense. Columbus had just four shots on goal in the second, going the last 11:19 of the period without a shot on Ullmark.
Marchenko brought the Blue Jackets to within one with near the midway point of the third period on a great individual effort for his 28th goal of the season, but it was as close as Columbus would get despite several good scoring opportunities in the closing minutes.
"We had some looks, had some chances, just weren't able to get one by him," said Jenner, referring to Ottawa goalie Linus Ullmark. He finished with 29 saves on 31 shots, including several key saves late.
The loss dropped the Blue Jackets out of the second wild card spot based on a tiebreaker, a testament to how close the Eastern Conference playoff picture is.
The Blue Jackets and Senators, who solidified their positioning in the first wild card spot with the win, will meet two more times over the next eleven days: in Ottawa next Sunday and then in Columbus two nights later.
"We can beat this team, for sure," said Marchenko.
Here's how the Blue Jackets came up empty north of the border:
1st Period:
(7:24 — OTT Goal): For the ninth consecutive game, the Blue Jackets give up the first goal of the game. Ridly Grieg is in the low slot and tips a shot from defenseman Thomas Chabot, which gets by Tarasov's stick-side to give the Senators a 1-0 lead.
(7:55 — CBJ Goal): The Blue Jackets win a faceoff in the Ottawa zone and push the puck over to Denton Mateychuk, who immediately goes D-to-D with Werenski. He fires from a distance and Ullmark makes the save through traffic but the rebound goes right into the slot, where Jenner is waiting and puts it home to tie the game at 1-1. (Goal: Jenner [5]; Assists: Werenski [51], Mateychuk [6])
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
(14:08 — OTT Goal): Ottawa goes up again, 2-1 this time, with a goal from Drake Batherson. Dylan Cozens skates the puck from the high slot over to the board, then goes across the ice and fires from inside the blue line. The initial save on the shot through traffic is made, but Batherson gets the rebound under Tarasov for the goal.
2nd Period:
(9:17 — OTT Goal): Jake Sanderson pushes Ottawa's lead to 3-1 by crashing the net for his eighth goal of the season. A nice play by Greig to chip it off the boards, then a great effort from Shane Pinto to find Sanderson at the net for the goal.
3rd Period:
(11:02 — CBJ Goal): Marchenko has a lot of highlight-reel goals this season and this one is just that. He enters the zone after taking a pass from Werenski and makes a phenomenal individual effort, cutting through three Senators, ending with a curl-and-drag move that beats Ullmark to cut Ottawa's lead to 3-2. (Goal: Marchenko [28]; Assists: Werenski [52])
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
| CBJ | GAME STATS | OTT |
|---|---|---|
| 31 | SHOTS | 27 |
| 39% | FACEOFFS | 61% |
| 0/1 | POWER PLAY | 0/2 |
| 2/2 | PENALTY KILL | 1/1 |
| 22 | HITS | 23 |
| 11 | GIVEAWAYS | 15 |
| 2 | TAKEAWAYS | 3 |
| 16 | BLOCKED SHOTS | 18 |
| ALL SITUATIONS ADVANCED STATS | ||
| 2.45 | EXPECTED GOALS | 3.79 |
| 62 | SHOT ATTEMPTS | 64 |
| 26 | SCORING CHANCES | 35 |
| 10 | HIGH-DANGER CHANCES | 17 |
| Data via NHL.com & NaturalStatTrick.com | ||
Stat Chat:
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Daniil Tarasov made 24 saves on 27 shots in a losing effort, allowing three goals or less for his fifth consecutive start dating back to the end of January.
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With two assists, Werenski had his first multi-point night since March 9th against the New York Rangers. He now has 52 assists for the season, and this was his 19th multi-point game of the campaign.
- In 5-on-5 play, the Blue Jackets were extremely balanced in using their top nine. The line of Fantilli-Jenner-Johnson were on ice for 13:00, Voronkov-Monahan-Marchenko 12:46, and Sillinger-Danforth-Olivier were there for 11:19.
Up Next:
The Blue Jackets are back home for their next two, the first of which comes Tuesday night against the Nashville Predators. Puck-drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
