COLUMBUS, Ohio — Zach Werenski broke a tie late in the game with the second of his two goals, Sergei Bobrovsky had 22 saves and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the struggling Ottawa Senators 6-3 on Monday night.
Werenski, who scored the Blue Jackets’ first goal in the second period, tipped in a pass from Cam Atkinson with 2:01 left to break a 3-3 tie. Atkinson and Josh Anderson got empty-net goals in the final minute to turn it into a rout for surging Columbus.
Pierre-Luc Dubois had a career-high two goals and two assists as the Blue Jackets won for the sixth time in seven games and moved within two points of Washington atop the Metropolitan Division.
Columbus Blue Jackets center Pierre-Luc Dubois. (Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports)
Ryan Dzingel had two goals for Ottawa, a team going in the opposite direction. The Senators lost their fifth in a row and are mired in last place in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference.
Rookie Marcus Hogberg — who made his first career start Saturday against Washington — didn’t play badly, finishing with 32 saves.
After a scoreless first period, Ottawa got on the board at 8:15 of the second. Chris Tierney found Dzingel just to the right of the net, and the Ohio State product caught Bobrovsky leaning away for an easy goal, his 14th of the season.
Werenski tied the game 80 seconds later with a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle off a cross-ice pass from Artemi Panarin, who finished with a pair of assists.
Dubois got his 15th goal of the season when he put back a rebound off the right post four minutes into the third period to break a 1-1 tie and then got credit for a lucky one off Cody Ceci’s skate later in the period.
The Senators got a fortunate goal that bounced in off Columbus defender David Savard, with Bobby Ryan getting credit. Dzingel scored again three minutes later to tie the game again, setting up Werenski’s game-winner.
Columbus got five goals in the final 20 minutes, matching a franchise record for most in a period.
The Blue Jackets were playing without captain Nick Foligno, who was in Boston to be with his 5-year-old daughter Milana, who was having a scheduled surgery. She was born with a congenital heart defect.
NOTES: F Anthony Duclair moved to Foligno’s spot on the second line and Lukas Sedlak was back in the lineup after being scratched the past five games. … Columbus is the only NHL team with four defencemen with at least 13 points. .. Werenski has six points in the last five games.
UP NEXT:
Ottawa: Hosts Vancouver on Wednesday.
Columbus: At Carolina on Friday.
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Mitch Stacy, The Associated Press
