PREVIEW: Blue Jackets hit home stretch with game against Senators

BLUE JACKETS (35-36-6) vs. SENATORS (29-41-7)

The games weren't necessarily routs -- all were one-goal games going into the final minute -- but Columbus committed enough critical errors to lose in all three contests.
To start, the Blue Jackets need to start better. Columbus gave up a goal in the first five minutes of all three games and was outscored by a combined total of 8-1 on the trip.
"It sucks," Jack Roslovic said after the final loss Tuesday at San Jose, a game in which the Sharks took a 3-0 lead in the first period and held on to win 3-2. "We say our identity is to come back, but you can't try to come back every night. It's just too difficult to do in this league. It's about being mentally focused right from the first puck drop, and I guess we just didn't have it on this road trip."
To head coach Brad Larsen, the problem hasn't been any lack of motivation or a lack of energy on the bench but rather a team that is making too many big mistakes. That's especially true on the defensive end of the ice, where the Jackets have simply had breakdowns that led directly to opposing goals.
"The first period wasn't as bad as it looked when you're down 3-0," he said after the loss to the Sharks. "We have started way worse in other games. We make two real bad mistakes. We talked about protecting the middle of the ice. We're there (physically) but we're not there (in practice), and it happened twice. … There's two goals that we give up for free. (Scoring) chances were 5-3, they get three goals. We give up six chances the last two periods. It's not a horrible road game."
And yet the Blue Jackets are left looking for answers when it comes to the win column, and nothing appears as though it's going to come easy down the stretch. While Columbus got some good news when rookie forward Yegor Chinakhov (upper-body injury) returned to practice Thursday, the squad still seems likely to be without mainstays Patrik Laine, Boone Jenner and Zach Werenski tonight against the Senators.
But it remains a chance for the Jackets to finish strong while also getting an opportunity to look at some of the organization's younger players, so there shouldn't be a lack of energy as players look to fill bigger roles.
"I think each game is a new challenge," Sean Kuraly said. "Like you've seen, we have guys out, we get guys in. I think we have to take it as these games are the opposite of meaningless. You're showing that this group can be something that can stick around and how much do we believe in what we have in there."

Know the Foe

Ottawa much like Columbus doesn't have playoff positioning to fight for, as the Sens have pretty much been out of the mix since a 4-15-1 start to the season. Things have gotten better since then, with Ottawa around .500 and 6-4-1 in its last 11 games, but D.J. Smith's young team is still trying to work itself into being a contender.
While this will be a fifth straight season without playoff hockey in Canada's capital -- the Sens last made it in 2016-17, when the squad came within a win of the Stanley Cup Final -- but there is reason to see hope down the road.
It comes in the form of youngsters like Brady Tkachuk (22 years old), Tim Stützle (20), Joshua Norris (22) and Drake Batherson (23), who are the team's top four scorers. Add in 22-year-old Alex Formenton, 22-year-old Erik Brannstrom and prospects Jake Sanderson, Ridly Greig and Jacob Bernard-Docker and there's reason to believe the Sens could have a pretty good core coming into its own in upcoming season.
There's still a long way to go, as Ottawa is 26th in the NHL in scoring (2.70 goals per game) and 23rd in team defense (3.23 goals allowed).
Up front, the young forward group is led by Tkachuk, who plays a very Tkachukian game that includes 28 goals, 32 points, a team-best 60 points and 115 penalty minutes, good for third in the NHL. Stützle is off to an impressive campaign, as the German youngster has a 20-33-53 line, while Norris has a team-best 33 goals among his 51 points.
Batherson has been impressive as well, posting a 15-25-40 line in just 41 games on the way to an All-Star nomination, while Formenton has 17 goals. Thomas Chabot leads the team from the blue line with a 6-28-34 line, but he has not played since suffering a hand injury in the previous meeting between the teams in March.
One thing Ottawa does have to figure out is its goaltending situation, though CBJ draft pick Anton Forsberg has had a solid season with a 19-17-4 record in 43 games (41 starts) as well as a 2.79 GAA and .917 in his age 29 season. Time will tell if he's the long-term answer, but he has distanced himself from veteran Matt Murray (5-12-2/3.05/.906) and fellow youngster Filip Gustavsson (4-11-1/3.71/.888).