Gameday Preview: Blue Jackets at Senators

The Details

BLUE JACKETS at SENATORS
GAME INFO
COLUMBUS: 20-36-6, 8th in Metropolitan
OTTAWA: 31-26-4, 5th in Atlantic
CANADIAN TIRE CENTRE, 7 p.m. ET
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RECENT ARTICLES
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Trade deadline takeaways
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What They're Saying

The trade deadline has passed, and the Blue Jackets know who will be in Columbus for the rest of the season.
Or do they?
"Do we know our group?" head coach Brad Larsen asked rhetorically Friday morning after news broke that center Sean Kuraly would be out around six weeks -- essentially, the rest of the season -- with injury. "We just lost Kurls, you know what I mean?
"That's been one of those things all year, you know, we haven't really seen our group. But we'll know who's going to be around. You know, there's no more moves after this and hopefully we can stay healthy."
That's been perhaps the biggest challenge for the Blue Jackets this year, and just when it seemed like they were getting somewhat close to healthy, the loss of Kuraly broke up the team's identity line that featured the Columbus native and wings Eric Robinson and Mathieu Olivier.
The result was a close but ultimately losing effort against the visiting Kraken, who got the game-winning, power-play goal from former Blue Jacket Alexander Wennberg in the third period and then was able to close out the game from there.
"I think we took our foot off the gas a little bit in the second and we just gave up way too many slot chances in front of the net," Patrik Laine said afterward. "That kind of team, they're gonna use them pretty good. Obviously we took too many penalties as well, and they got two (power-play goals), we only got one. So we were still a bit behind tonight."

Know The Foe: Ottawa Senators

Head coach: D.J. Smith (Fourth season)
Season Stats: Goals per game: 3.15 (15th) | Scoring defense: 3.13 (16th) | PP: 25.1 percent (3rd) | PK: 83.0 percent (5th)
The narrative:Ottawa enters the game just four points out of a playoff spot, and the Senators have their sights set on the franchise's first playoff berth since making the Eastern Conference final in 2016-17. Adding one of the biggest prizes of the trade deadline, defenseman Jakob Chychrun, bolsters a team starting to believe it deserves to be in the postseason, thanks in a part to a young, exciting core that can put the puck in the net.
2022-23 leaders: Ottawa's scoring is top-heavy, but it gets the job done three players have at least 60 points and two more are above the 50-point mark. Brady Tkachuk (23 years old) leads the way as the All-Star center has a 26-39-65 line, but Tim Stutzle (21) isn't far behind at 29-35-64. Veteran Claude Giroux is the old hand of the group, with the 35-year-old posting 26 goals among his 63 points, while Alex DeBrincat (25) has 20 goals and 53 points in his first season in Ottawa. Drake Batherson (24) also tops the 50-point mark with a 19-32-51 line.
In net, former Blue Jacket Anton Forsberg is out with injury, but Mads Sogaard was the NHL rookie of the month in February. The 22-year-old has posted a 4-0-1 mark so far in six games with a 2.33 GAA and .922 save percentage, while Cam Talbot has a 14-14-1 record, 2.88 GAA and .905 save percentage.
What's new:That Ottawa has been able to withstand injuries to Forsberg and Joshua Norris, two of their breakout players a year ago, has been a testament to the growth of Smith's squad. The Sens are 11-3-1 in their last 16 games and have won four in a row, totaling 22 goals in that quartet of wins. Adding Chychrun, who debuted Thursday at the Rangers, can only help bolster a blue line that may have been the last big question for the Sens going into the deadline.
Trending:Columbus entered the season 8-2-2 against the Sens in the last five seasons, but Ottawa claimed a 4-0 victory Jan. 3 against the Jackets in Kanata.
Former CBJ:2006 CBJ first-round pick Derick Brassard passed the 1,000-game mark Thursday in New York, scoring twice to boost his season line to 11-10-21 in 49 games. Forsberg remains on IR, while Tyler Motte and Dillon Heatherington were with the Sens earlier this year but no longer are.

3 Keys to the Game

Stay at 5-on-5: One day after facing a team that excels at 5-on-5 but struggled on special teams, the Jackets take on a team that makes its money on the PP and PK. Staying out of the box will be key.
Find the matchups: It's a top-heavy Ottawa team, with its top two lines and power play doing most of the damage. Columbus is on the road but will look for favorable moments to deploy its lineup.
Rookie battle: One night after facing the NHL's leader in rookie goals (Matty Beniers, 19), Columbus and Kirill Marchenko battle the player he's tied with for second with 16, Ottawa's Shane Pinto. It's another chance for the CBJ youngster to make an impact.

3 Stats to Know

• Eric Robinson became the 29th Blue Jackets player to post a hat trick in team history with three goals Tuesday night. It was the 46th hat trick in team annals across 22 seasons.
• Marchenko is the second rookie in franchise history to record at least three multigoal games in a single season, joining Serge Aubin in 2000-01.
• Milestone watch: GM Jarmo Kekalainen is three games from 800 for his NHL GM career. … Patrik Laine is six goals from 200 for his NHL career (194-174-368, 454 GP).

Who's Hot

In the last three games, Elvis Merzlikins has posted a .924 save percentage by stopping 110 of 119 shots against. … Marchenko's 16 goals are the most in franchise history for a player in his first 37 NHL games. They also are tied for third-most ever for a CBJ rookie with Boone Jenner (2013-14) and Cole Sillinger (2021-22), and he is tied for second in the league among rookie goal scorers. … Defenseman Adam Boqvist has a 3-14-17 line in his last 21 games and has set a new career high with 15 assists this season. … Laine has 9-16-25 in the last 23 games. … Johnny Gaudreau has 10-36-45 in his last 48 games. … With Marchenko and Kent Johnson (13) both in double digits, this is the third time in CBJ history that two rookies have at least 10 goals. ... Johnson's 13-16-29 line places him in the top 10 in team history among rookies in goals (tied for seventh) and points (tied for ninth). He ranks tied for fifth in the NHL in goals and is fifth in points among rookies. … CBJ rookies lead all NHL teams in goals and place second in points with 38-37-75 in 61 games.

This Day in CBJ History

March 4, 2009: On the march to the team's first appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Blue Jackets swing a big trade, acquiring center Antoine Vermette from Ottawa in exchange for goalie Pascal Leclaire and a second-round draft pick.
March 4, 2011: Columbus gets two penalty shots in a game for the first time in franchise history, but Miikka Kiprusoff denies both Matt Calvert and Vermette in a 4-3 Flames win in the Saddledome.
March 4, 2018: Columbus posts a 4-2 win at San Jose, starting a 10-game winning streak that would push the team to clinch the franchise's first-ever consecutive berths in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Blue Jackets outscored opponents 42-22 in the span, the second longest winning streak in team history.
March 4, 2020: The Blue Jackets sign high-scoring defenseman Jake Christiansen out of Everett of the WHL to an entry-level contract.
March 4, 2022: Patrik Laine, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Justin Danforth score three goals just 46 seconds apart, the fastest three goals in team history, but Columbus drops a 4-3 overtime decision in Nationwide Arena to Los Angeles.

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)
Johnny Gaudreau - Boone Jenner - Kirill Marchenko
Kent Johnson - Jack Roslovic - Patrik Laine
Eric Robinson - Cole Sillinger - Emil Bemstrom
Liam Foudy - Lane Pederson - Mathieu Olivier
Tim Berni - Erik Gudbranson
Nick Blankenburg - Andrew Peeke
Gavin Bayreuther - Adam Boqvist
Elvis Merzlikins
Michael Hutchinson
Scratches:Sean Kuraly (oblique, out six weeks as of March 3)
Injured reserve:Jake Bean (shoulder, out four to six months after surgery in November); Zach Werenski (shoulder surgery, out for season); Justin Danforth (shoulder surgery, out for season)
Roster Report:Columbus has no extra players on the roster, so it should be the same 18-skater lineup barring any callups while Merzlikins will go again in net.