Senators at Blue Jackets preview

SENATORS (26-33-11) at BLUE JACKETS (38-28-5)
7 p.m. ET; CITY, TVAS2, FS-O, NHL.TV

The Blue Jackets are one point ahead of the New Jersey Devils and are tied in points with the Philadelphia Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division. The Flyers hold the spot because they have one more regulation/overtime win (33-32).
The Senators, going for their fourth straight victory, are 5-2-1 in their past eight games and trail the Devils by 17 points for the second wild card in the East.

Players to watch

Senators forward Ryan Dzingel, a former Ohio State player (2011-14), has NHL personal highs in goals (20) and points (33) in 68 games this season. He had 32 points (14 goals, 18 assists) in 81 games last season.
Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson has 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) in 23 games since returning from a broken foot Jan. 25.

They said it

"We're showing what kind of team we really are here. It's too bad it's so late in the season and we couldn't have done this a little earlier in the year, but it wasn't for a lack of trying." -- Senators forward Matt Duchene
"When your line's buzzing and you have chemistry, a lot of things open up and it gives you a lot of opportunities for scoring chances." -- Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson on playing with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Artemi Panarin

Senators projected lineup

Ryan Dzingel -- Matt Duchene -- Mike Hoffman
Bobby Ryan -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Alexandre Burrows
Magnus Paajarvi -- Zack Smith -- Tom Pyatt
Max McCormick -- Jim O'Brien -- Marian Gaborik
Thomas Chabot -- Erik Karlsson
Ben Harpur -- Cody Ceci
Mark Borowiecki -- Fredrik Claesson
Mike Condon
Craig Anderson
Scratched: Erik Burgdoerfer
Injured: Mark Stone (lower body), Chris Wideman (hamstring)

Blue Jackets projected lineup

Artemi Panarin -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Cam Atkinson
Sonny Milano -- Nick Foligno -- Oliver Bjorkstrand
Boone Jenner -- Alex Wennberg -- Thomas Vanek
Matt Calvert -- Brandon Dubinsky -- Mark Letestu
Zach Werenski -- Seth Jones
Jack Johnson -- Markus Nutivaara
Ian Cole -- David Savard
Sergei Bobrovsky
Joonas Korpisalo
Scratched: Ryan Murray, Taylor Chorney, Scott Harrington, Markus Hannikainen, Lukas Sedlak, Dean Kukan
Injured:Josh Anderson (knee)

Status report

Neither team held a morning skate. … Condon will start after Anderson made 23 saves in a 3-2 overtime win against the Dallas Stars on Friday.

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Stat pack

Ryan needs one point for 500 (231 goals, 268 assists) in the NHL. … Panarin has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in a six-game point streak. … Jones has eight points (four goals, four assists) in a four-game point streak. … Columbus has won six straight at home, outscoring opponents 25-12.