Elvis Merzlikins made 41 saves and the Columbus Blue Jackets scored four unanswered goals in a 4-2 win over the visiting Ottawa Senators on Friday.
Patrik Laine, Dmitri Voronkov, Adam Fantilli and Boone Jenner all scored for the Blue Jackets. Johnny Gaudreau and Zach Werenski each had two assists.
The Jackets are 4-2-0 in their last six games, while Ottawa is on a three-game losing streak.
Brady Tkachuk had a goal and an assist for the Senators. Claude Giroux also scored for Ottawa, and goalie Joonas Korpisalo stopped 19 of 23 shots.
Merzlikins’ highlight reel included a stop on a Mathieu Joseph partial breakaway in the second period, and a number of big close-range saves in the game’s opening minutes.
The Senators outshot Columbus 43-23, building a 15-5 shots advantage and a 2-0 lead after the first 12 minutes.
Giroux marked his 100th game in an Ottawa uniform with a brilliant goal 8:43 into the first period. Tkachuk passed to a streaking Giroux on a partial 2-on-1 rush, and Giroux finished with some excellent stickwork.
The Senators’ fast start continued with Tkachuk’s power-play goal at the 11:08 mark. The Blue Jackets were called for three penalties in the first 11 minutes, but after the extended short-handed stretch put them in an early hole, they got on track.
On a Columbus power play at 14:53 of the first period, Laine’s wrist shot beat a screened Korpisalo. Just 43 seconds later, Voronkov buried the equalizer with a quick shot in front of net.
The Blue Jackets’ momentum carried into the second period. Fantilli put Columbus ahead at the 5:16 mark with a one-handed redirection for his fifth goal of the season.
Jenner scored on another deflection 8:54 into the second frame for a power-play marker and the Columbus captain’s team-leading 12th goal.
Columbus was 2-for-2 on the power play Friday, after going just 3-for-48 with the extra attacker over its previous 17 games.
–Field Level Media
