The Columbus Blue Jackets thought they’d have a standard turnaround for their back-to-back game against the Ottawa Senators. It was anything but a standard turnaround.
Mechanical issues created a delay in the Blue Jackets’ ability to get to Ottawa until a couple hours before puck drop. After the game was pushed back to a 7:30 P.M. eastern start, the Blue Jackets went in against the odds and made a statement.
Four different Blue Jackets found the back of the net while Jet Greaves shined stopping 27 shots. The Blue Jackets handily defeated the Senators 4-1 on Monday night at Canadian Tire Center.
The story of this game was just how the Blue Jackets were able to handle business without two of their best players in the lineup.
Game Recap
The Blue Jackets had to navigate the second of a back-to-back without Zach Werenski or Sean Monahan. Werenski missed his third straight game with a lower-body injury. Meanwhile, Monahan took the warmup but left early because something didn’t feel right. The team announced he was out due to maintenance related to the ongoing situation he’s dealing with.
The Blue Jackets could have had every excuse in the world to not have their best. Instead, they took the lead going into the first intermission.
Captain Boone Jenenr crashed the net and finished off a pass from Cole Sillinger to make it 1-0. That was Jenner’s sixth goal of the season. Sillinger got elevated to second-line center in Monahan’s absence and finished the night with a pair of assists including one on the 2-0 goal in the second.
Damon Severson blasted a 97 mile per hour shot past goalie Leevi Meralainen to make it 2-0 just 1:21 into the second. The Blue Jackets were able to carry the momentum until midway through the second when three of the Senators’ best players gave them some life.
Jake Sanderson scored what turned out to be the Senators’ only goal of the night to cut it to 2-1. Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk assisted. The Blue Jackets then shut things down the rest of the night.
Greaves made several key stops to preserve the 2-1 lead after 40 minutes. The Blue Jackets wasted no time in the third to make it a two-goal lead.
Denton Mateychuk scored just 1:57 into the third to make it 3-1. That goal marked the 31st goal scored by a Blue Jackets’ defenseman this season.
Then unlike most third periods this season, the Blue Jackets locked it down and kept the Senators off the board. Kirill Marchenko scored his fourth goal in the last three goals to put the dagger in a 4-1 win.
Merilainen finished with 18 saves as the Senators have now lost three games in a row. Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets are on a three-game winning streak of their own. They sit just four points out of a playoff spot in the East.
Next up for the Blue Jackets, they host the New Jersey Devils in what should be a wild game. The Senators won’t play again until 2026 as they host the Washington Capitals on New Year’s Day for a matinee affair.
