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BLUE JACKETS (34-33-9) vs. SENATORS (42-29-6), 7 PM, NATIONWIDE ARENA

COLUMBUS, 6th in Metropolitan
OTTAWA, 4th in Atlantic

With six games left to go in the season, the math doesn’t look good for the Blue Jackets.

Columbus sits eight points back of the final wild card spot occupied by Montreal, meaning it would take a miracle run for the CBJ – and essentially a collapse out of the Habs – to get the Blue Jackets back into the top eight in the Eastern Conference.

That’s the result of a 4-11-1 run down the stretch that has been marked by a struggle to put the puck in the back of the net. The Blue Jackets went to Ontario this weekend needing critical points and instead were shut out in back-to-back games by Toronto and Ottawa despite a combined 57 shots on goal, 20 high-danger chances and 4.44 expected goals, per Natural Stat Trick.

“I think we can be better,” center Sean Monahan said afterward. “We got to be a desperate team. We have to find ways to score and keep the season alive. You just gotta work through (the frustration). It’s a team game. Everyone’s involved. Everyone’s got to play a part. We’re at the part of the season where it’s do or die every night.”

Another thing that would help the Blue Jackets would be playing with a lead. Through the first 60 games, Columbus was one of the best teams in the league at scoring first, doing so 37 times; but in the last 16 games, the Blue Jackets have scored the game's first goal just twice.

They went on to win both of those games, but having to come from behind on a regular basis is difficult this time of year. Against Ottawa, it was a 2-0 hole within the opening five minutes, and while the Blue Jackets played better as the game went on, the deficit was too much to overcome.

“Did we get to our game? Did we have some chances, even early? Yeah,” head coach Dean Evason said. “Clearly, we’re not scoring goals, so it just gets magnified when you get down because you’re pressing even harder. When you’re not having success and you’re not scoring goals and you’re pressing, it’s not a good recipe.”

Add it all up and it’s been a difficult mental road for the Blue Jackets over the last month, as they feel like they’ve deserved better results only to repeatedly come up short. But there are six games to go, and the Blue Jackets will face the Senators again tonight with two points on the line.

“They’re pros, right?” Evason said. “That’s our job. Our job is to get ready for the next game, and that’s what we have to do regardless of how we feel emotionally or physically. We gotta get back up and ready to go again. We’re still in a position where ... we have to have the belief that if we can get on a roll and get on a run here that we’ll be in a good spot at the end of the year.”

Know The Foe: Ottawa Senators

Head coach: Travis Green (First season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 2.87 (20th) | Scoring defense: 2.77 (10th) | PP: 23.1 percent (12th) | PK: 77.9 percent (17th)

The narrative: Boasting a young roster with plenty of talent, the Senators have been building toward something, and this appears to be the year Ottawa will snap a seven-year streak of missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The arrival of Green and an improved defense have supplemented such standouts as Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson and Jake Sanderson, and the Sens can clinch a playoff berth with a victory tonight.

Team leaders: Stutzle has become one of the NHL’s most consistent players at age 23, as the third overall pick in the 2020 draft from Germany leads the way at a near point-per-game pace (21-51-72 in 77 games). Batherson may be one of the game’s most underrated forwards, putting up 22 goals and 61 points on the year. Though he’s been out of late with an upper body injury, Tkachuk is the straw that stirs the drink with a team-best 29 goals, 55 points and 123 penalty minutes to join CBJ forward Mathieu Olivier as the only players in the league with at least 15 goals and 100 PIMs. Sanderson adds 11-43-54 from the blue line, while veteran Claude Giroux has 15 goals among his 48 points.

Linus Ullmark was acquired from Boston in the offseason to steady the goaltending spot, and he’s largely done just that with a 23-14-3 record, 2.68 GAA and .911 save percentage.

What's new: While many of the teams battling for a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference have scuffled down the stretch, Ottawa has gone 12-4-1 in its last 17 games and posted two straight shutouts to all but clinch its spot. The Sens sensed that the opportunity to play postseason hockey was there at the trade deadline and bolstered the forward group, bringing in Dylan Cozens from Buffalo and Fabian Zetterlund from San Jose, with Cozens posting a 3-7-10 line in his first 16 games.

Trending: This is the final of three contests in 11 days between the teams, with the Senators winning both matchups in the Canadian capital. Columbus is 2-0-1 in the last three meetings at Nationwide Arena.

Former CBJ: Goaltender Anton Forsberg has found a home in net in Ottawa, starting 24 games and playing in 27 with a 10-11-2 record, 2.57 GAA and .907 save percentage.

Projected CBJ Lineup (Subject to change)

LW 38 Boone Jenner
C 23 Sean Monahan
RW 86 Kirill Marchenko
LW 21 James van Riemsdyk
C 19 Adam Fantilli
RW 91 Kent Johnson
LW 10 Dmitri Voronkov
C 4 Cole Sillinger
RW 24 Mathieu Olivier
LW 27 Zach Aston-Reese
C 7 Sean Kuraly 
RW 17 Justin Danforth
LD 8 Zach Werenski
RD 15 Dante Fabbro
G 90 Elvis Merzlikins (starter)
LD 5 Denton Mateychuk
RD 9 Ivan Provorov
G 40 Daniil Tarasov
LD 2 Jake Christiansen
RD 44 Erik Gudbranson

Scratches: Yegor Chinakhov, Christian Fischer, Luke Kunin, Jack Williams, Jordan Harris, Jack Johnson, Damon Severson

Injured reserve: Kevin Labanc (shoulder)

Roster Report: Dean Evason said there would be "lots" of changes to the CBJ lineup, but didn't elaborate. Morning skate lines suggest Chinakhov and Jack Johnson come out for Aston-Reese and Christiansen.

The Numbers Game

Columbus has tied a franchise record with five players with 20-plus goals on the season (Kirill Marchenko, 31; Adam Fantilli 24; Kent Johnson, 22; Zach Werenski, 20; Dmitri Voronkov, 20). ... Boone Jenner saw his career-best-tying six-game point streak end Saturday, with Jenner notching 6-3-9 in that span. The captain has a 6-12-18 line in 20 games since returning from injury. He is two goals away from becoming the third CBJ player to notch 200 in his career. ... Among NHL players with at least 20 games played, Jenner leads the league in points per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 (3.07), while Sean Monahan is second (2.99). ... Werenski has moved into a tie for fifth place all-time in a single season in CBJ annals with 74 points. Among defensemen, he has a single-season team record with 54 assists on the year, and his 20 goals are tied with his team record total from 2019-20. His average ice time of 26:59 leads all NHL players, and he’s tied for second among league defensemen in goals (20) and second in points (74) on the season. ... Monahan has eight points (3-5-8) in seven games after missing 28 games with an upper body injury. His 49 points (17 goals, 32 assists) are the most ever for a CBJ player in his first 48 games with the franchise. … Adam Fantilli has a 17-14-31 line in the last 37 games. ... Marchenko has set a new career high with his 31 goals on the season. He has a 21-25-46 line in the last 48 games and is just the eighth player in CBJ history to score 30 goals in a campaign as well as the ninth to reach the 70-point mark. ... Johnson has 26 points (11-15-26) in the past 32 games and leads the NHL with three shootout-winning goals on the season. ... Mathieu Olivier has a career-high 17 goals and is one of two NHL players with 15-plus goals and 100 penalty minutes in 2024-25; he’s also second in the NHL with 290 hits, a franchise single-season record. ... Dante Fabbro has a 2-5-7 line in his last six games. ... The Blue Jackets are second in the NHL with 177 goals at 5-on-5 and tied for fifth with nine shorthanded goals. ... Blue Jackets defensemen have 46 goals this season, second in the NHL, and 183 points, good for fifth place in the league. ... Erik Gudbranson is set to play in his 800th career NHL game.

This Day in CBJ History

April 8, 2001: Tyler Wright scores in overtime and the Blue Jackets finish their inaugural season with a 4-3 victory against Chicago at Nationwide Arena. Columbus becomes just the third expansion team to surpass 70 points, excluding the original expansion class of 1967-68 when the league doubled from six to 12 teams.

April 8, 2009: Rick Nash’s goal at 14:30 of the third period erases a 3-2 Chicago lead and forces overtime, resulting in the Blue Jackets clinching the first playoff berth in franchise history. Fedor Tyutin’s shootout goal stands as the game winner as the Jackets beat the Blackhawks 4-3 at United Center.

April 8, 2014: Ryan Johansen scores in overtime and Columbus moves one win closer to punching its ticket to the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 4-3 win vs. Phoenix at Nationwide Arena. The Blue Jackets would clinch their second postseason berth a night later with a 3-1 win at Dallas in the resumption of a suspended game.

April 8, 2015: Sergei Bobrovsky makes 35 saves in a 5-0 shutout of Toronto at Nationwide Arena. Scott Hartnell has a goal and an assist, and 12 players get on the scoresheet in Columbus’ 10th win in 11 games.

April 8, 2022: Columbus signs a pair of University of Michigan players, inking 2021 first-round draft pick Kent Johnson and his teammate, defenseman Nick Blankenburg, to entry-level deals.

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