Stutzle scores 2 goals, Senators hold off Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS -- Tim Stutzle scored twice for the Ottawa Senators in a 6-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Thursday.

Drake Batherson and Michael Amadio each had a goal and two assists, Dylan Cozens had three assists, and David Perron and Claude Giroux each had a goal and an assist for the Senators (14-12-4), who ended a three-game losing streak. Linus Ullmark made 23 saves.

“We created a lot of good looks. The guys were bringing it to the net,” Batherson said. “[Defensemen] were delivering it. A couple of greasy ones I think is what we needed, and those always feel good.”

The line of Batherson, Cozens and Perron had all eight of its points in the first period, when the Senators scored four goals.

“When we have time, we can all make the play,” Batherson said of the three forwards. “We played together a lot before, so it was nice to be back with them.”

Boone Jenner had a goal and an assist in his return after missing 14 games with an upper-body injury, and Zach Werenski had two assists for the Blue Jackets (13-12-6), who have lost four straight (0-3-1). Elvis Merzlikins allowed three goals on five shots in the first 14:55 before being replaced by Jet Greaves (21 saves).

“I thought when Jet came in, he played really well,” Columbus defenseman Dante Fabbro said. “Circumstances happen and mistakes happen. So, it's on all of us. We're a team in here and we’ve got to be better in front of our goalies.”

Perron made it 1-0 at 6:58 of the first. Cozens’ shot was stopped by Merzlikins, but the rebound fluttered to the stick of Perron, who swatted the puck between the goalie’s pads with one hand from the left side.

Batherson increased the lead to 2-0 at 8:11. He scored with a wrist shot from the inside edge of the right face-off circle off a pass from Perron for his fifth goal in five games.

Stutzle scored on the power play at 14:55 to make it 3-0, going glove side from the left circle and chasing Merzlikins.

“You think maybe there's [a] momentum shift that you can [bring about] for the guys,” Blue Jackets coach Dean Evanson said in explaining the goalie change. “And then maybe there's some that you don't think should go in the net, but I think it was a little bit of both here tonight.”

Jenner cut it to 3-1 at 18:04 when Adam Fantilli’s shot deflected off him in the crease.

Amadio extended the lead to 4-1 at 19:26, taking a pass from Giroux and going forehand to backhand before scoring inside the left post.

“We're creating chances,” Stutzle said. “We didn't really score a lot of 5 -on-5 before that, but I think tonight everybody was going hard to the net.”

Fabbro cut it to 4-2 at 3:02 of the second period, scoring with a slap shot from the point with Kent Johnson screening Ullmark, and Dmitri Voronkov made it 4-3 on the power play at 8:10 by tipping in a pass to the crease by Kirill Marchenko.

Stutzle then made it 5-3 at 17:59 when he poked in his own rebound behind Greaves.

“I thought the second period we were climbing back,” said Jenner, the Blue Jackets captain. “We had some momentum going, a couple quick goals. So, it's just that late goal. I mean, late goal in the first period and a late goal in the second. That hurts us. We weren't able to come back after that.”

Giroux scored into an empty net at 18:37 of the third period for the 6-3 final.

The Senators played the third period without center Lars Eller because of a lower-body injury. Coach Travis Green had no update on him.

“I think we managed the game really well, just kept putting pucks behind them, even created some chances,” Stutzle said. “You’ve got to keep having quick shifts if you go down to three centers.”

NOTES: The Blue Jackets had an eight-game home point streak end (5-0-3). ... Werenski played his 598th game, passing David Savard for the most by a Columbus defenseman. … Batherson and Cozens became the third Senators teammates to each have three points in a first period. The others were Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza (March 30, 2010), and Randy Cunneyworth, Alexei Yashin and Alfredsson (Feb. 20, 1996).