Atkinson's two goals help Blue Jackets beat Senators
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Cam Atkinson scored his second goal of the game to break a third-period tie and send the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 5-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Friday night at Nationwide Arena.
Atkinson's blast from the left circle at 10:40 gave the Blue Jackets (15-7-1) a 3-2 lead en route to their sixth consecutive victory. He also scored Columbus' first goal in the opening period.
Nick Foligno added a third-period goal, Markus Nutivaara had a second-period goal and Tyler Motte scored an empty-netter in the final minute for the Blue Jackets.
Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky won his sixth game in a row. He finished with 24 saves.
Josh Anderson, Ryan Murray, David Savard, Sonny Milano, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Lukas Sedlak each had an assist for the Blue Jackets.
Tom Pyatt and Mike Hoffman had the goals for the Senators (8-7-6), who are winless (0-4-1) in their last five games.
Derick Brassard, Mark Stone and Ryan Dzingel were credited with an assist each for the Senators.
Craig Anderson made 27 saves for the Senators.
The back-and-forth game was tied 2-2 after two periods as the teams matched goals in the second.
The Blue Jackets grabbed a 2-1 lead at 7:28 of the second when Nutivaara's shot from just inside the blue line found its way through traffic past Anderson for his first goal of the season.
Less than two minutes later, the Senators knotted the score at 9:00 when Hoffman beat Bobrovsky glove side after a Blue Jackets turnover at the blue line.
The Senators had a goal waved off after video review in the first minute of the second period. The puck teetered on the goal line but never crossed before it was cleared.
The Blue Jackets had scored first in six straight games before the Senators ended that streak at 10:56 of the first period on just their second shot of the game. Pyatt took a quick pass from Brassard in front of the goalmouth and lifted a shot above Bobrovsky's blocker.
Columbus responded with the tying goal 26 seconds later. Atkinson stole the puck in the Blue Jackets' zone and scored on a breakaway, skating in on the goal and holding the puck until the last second before sliding it between the near post and Anderson's left skate.
The Senators managed only four shots on goal to the Blue Jackets' 14 in the first period but came out of it tied at 1.
NOTES: C Gabriel Dumont made his Senators debut. He was acquired Wednesday on waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning. He had four penalty minutes in seven games with the Lightning. "It's another chance for me," Dumont said. Ottawa placed Chris DiDomenico on waivers. ... Blue Jackets C Alexander Wennberg missed his fifth consecutive game with an undisclosed injury. ... Senators LW Ryan Dzingel played three seasons of college hockey at Ohio State in Columbus. ... Senators RW Bobby Ryan has yet to score a goal this season. ... The Blue Jackets' six-game win streak is their longest since winning a franchise-record 16 in a row last season. ... Ottawa LW Zack Smith (broken thumb) could return for Saturday's home game against the New York Islanders. ... Blue Jackets LW Nick Foligno had gone 12 games without a point before delivering the assist on the winning goal in a 1-0 overtime victory over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. ... Veteran D Fredrik Claesson was scratched and replaced in the Ottawa lineup by rookie D Ben Harpur.