Blue Jackets at Senators
The Ottawa Senators appear well on their way to correcting one of their major issues from a season ago. An improved Ottawa defense and goaltending unit will be put to the test Saturday night as it entertains an impressive Columbus Blue Jackets team that has scored at least three goals in three of its first four games. That includes a 3-2 victory over the visiting Calgary Flames on Friday, a triumph that capped Columbus’ 2-1 homestand.
Ottawa allowed the third-most goals in the East a season ago, and were a few tallies away from being the worst in the conference. But a new season has the Senators looking solid in their own end of the ice, surrendering just eight goals over their first four games - a stretch that includes a shutout of Florida. The Senators will also look to improve a power play that is just 2-for-15 over the past three games, including 1-for-7 in a 5-3 win over Colorado on Thursday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSOH (Columbus), SportsNet One (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (3-1-0): Columbus will go a long way if it can continue to dominate the special-teams battles. The Blue Jackets scored a power-play goal Friday night against the Flames while killing off all four Calgary man-advantage opportunities, and have yet to surrender a power-play goal on the season. They may be a solid bet to continue their success Saturday against the Senators, who squandered a number of opportunities against the Avalanche and are at just 15 percent on the power play for the season.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (3-1-0): Ottawa took an interesting approach to ice time in Thursday’s victory over the Avalanche, with 10 of 12 forwards topping the 14-minute mark and none surpassing Milan Michalek’s 17:38. It’s all part of coach Paul MacLean’s plan to cycle through all four lines and keep everyone fresh. “You’ve got a couple of guys down in the nines and 10s, but for the most part you’re at 15 minutes across the board,” said Bobby Ryan, who played 15:14. That’s helping us win games right now. I think versatility is a good word. I think resilience is a good word."
OVERTIME
1. Ottawa took two of three meetings last season, with the road team prevailing each time.
2. Ryan has nine goals and 10 assists in 23 career games against the Blue Jackets.
3. Johansen led Columbus forwards with 19:12 of ice time Friday night.