Coming off their worst performance of the season, the Ottawa Senators will look for more discipline and more goals when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday.
Monday’s 5-0 home loss to the Florida Panthers saw the Senators muster just 20 shots en route to being shut out for the first time this season. Tensions rose as the game increasingly got out of hand, resulting in a third-period fracas that saw all 10 players on the ice receive misconduct penalties.
The Senators and Panthers combined for 167 total penalty minutes, yet only Florida could take advantage on special teams. Ottawa went 0-for-6 on the power play while the Panthers were 3-for-7 with the extra attacker, including Sam Reinhart’s power-play goal just 1:28 into the game.
“They came out heavier than us,” Senators forward Claude Giroux said. “They won more battles, in the first 10 minutes it was all them. … We thought we were prepared, we just came out flat. And that just can’t happen.”
A more regular schedule might be what Ottawa needs for a fresh start. Due to their participation in the NHL’s Global Series in Sweden, the Senators played only four times within November’s last 18 days. December will be much more arduous, as the Senators will play 15 games over the 31 days in the month.
Ottawa also might get some reinforcements on the blue line since Thomas Chabot has been practicing with the team. Chabot may be ready to return Friday after a stint on long-term injured reserve due to a fractured hand.
Columbus can relate to Ottawa’s inconsistency, as the Blue Jackets are only two points ahead of the Senators for last place in the Eastern Conference. The Jackets’ 5-2 win over the Boston Bruins on Monday was perhaps their best win of the season, yet the team couldn’t follow up in Wednesday’s 4-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens.
The Jackets twice held leads during the second period only to allow the Canadiens to net the equalizer. The score remained tied throughout the third period until the final three minutes, when Montreal scored twice to steal the victory.
Goal prevention has been an issue for Columbus in general this season, but most of the damage has come late. The Blue Jackets have outscored opponents 26-19 in the first periods of games this season, but have been outscored 60-42 over the second and third periods.
“We’ve been stung by letting teams back in it, late goals or whatever it may be,” Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner said. “We’ve got to learn from it. It’s happening time and time again here and it’s on us to key in on those key moments. When we’ve got the lead, keep playing.”
The Blue Jackets’ special-teams units have varied greatly in quality this season. Columbus is one of the league’s top penalty-killing clubs, yet the Jackets also rank near the bottom of the NHL in power-play percentage.
Elvis Merzlikins likely will start again in net for Columbus after stopping 27 of 30 shots on Wednesday.
Because the Senators head back to Ottawa to host the Seattle Kraken on Saturday, goalies Joonas Korpisalo and Anton Forsberg likely will split the back-to-back games.
–Field Level Media
