Senators at Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets look to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games and potentially move into third place in the Metropolitan Division when they host the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. The Blue Jackets defeated Philadelphia 5-3 on Thursday to pull even in points with the Flyers for third in the Division and also have won six straight on home ice.
“We’re playing some of our best hockey now,” Columbus center Boone Jenner told reporters after Thursday’s win. “We’re feeling good in the room, we’re feeling confident every night going into a game.” The Blue Jackets have recorded 26 goals during their winning streak and will attempt to take the rubber match of the season series after splitting the first two contests with Ottawa, which has been a much better team this month. The Senators have won three straight and are 5-2-1 in March after Mike Hoffman’s overtime goal on Friday gave them a 3-2 victory over visiting Dallas. Ottawa, which came within one win of an appearance in the Stanley Cup Final last season, is 11-19-5 on the road overall but 4-1-0 this month - including wins over division leaders Tampa Bay and Vegas.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TVA2, CITY (Ottawa), FS Ohio (Columbus)
ABOUT THE SENATORS (26-33-11): Two-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson continues to pile up points, collecting nine in the last six games to raise his season total to 56 - second on the team behind the injured Mark Stone (62). Hoffman has registered four goals and four assists over his last six contests while Matt Duchene netting one tally and set up another on Friday to give him nine points in the same span. Marian Gaborik, who was acquired from Los Angeles in the deal involving Dion Phaneuf, has scored in back-to-back games.
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (38-28-5): Cam Atkinson stepped up with a hat trick on Thursday and has been much more of a factor since returning from a broken foot on Jan. 25, registering 20 points in 23 games. “First half of the season, I completely forgot about,” Atkinson, who scored six goals in his first 32 contests, told reporters. “I think when I broke my foot, it gave me a chance to hit the reset button, figure out what I really needed to do to get back to how I’m capable of playing.” Artemi Panarin leads the team with 63 points, including 10 during his current six-game streak.
OVERTIME
1. Columbus D Seth Jones needs one point to reach 50 for the first time in his career after collecting eight over his last four contests.
2. Ottawa RW Bobby Ryan has gone five games without a point, leaving him one shy of 500 for his career.
3. Blue Jackets G Sergei Bobrovsky has won four straight starts but is just 5-5-1 lifetime versus the Senators.