Senators blow lead in 3rd, lose in OT to Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS --The Ottawa Senators lost ground in the Eastern Conference wild card race when they lost 4-3 in overtime to the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Sunday.

Kirill Marchenko won it at 16 seconds from the right face-off circle after receiving a pass from Johnny Gaudreau, who forced
Tim Stutzle
to lose control of the puck.
"Obviously, it's bad turnover, but at that point, you need a save and we didn't get it," Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said.
Dylan Gambrell, Mark Kastelic and Alex DeBrincat scored, and Cam Talbot made 18 saves for the Senators (37-34-6), who lost 3-0 to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
Ottawa fell six points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins, who moved into the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the East following a 4-2 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday.
"We had a few too many guys that weren't ready to play," Smith said. "In a game like this when your season's on the line, you have to have them going on a back to back.
"These are learning lessons for some of these guys. You have to take care of the puck. Sometimes in these back to backs you get tired and make mental mistakes. You have to learn to simplify the game."

Gaudreau had two assists, Kent Johnson and Eric Robinson scored, and Jon Gillies made 24 saves for the Blue Jackets (24-44-8), who had lost four straight (outscored 23-5 during stretch).
Marchenko has scored 21 goals in 53 games this season, passing Pierre-Luc Dubois (2017-18) for the most by a rookie in Blue Jackets history. He also tied Matty Beniers of the Seattle Kraken (73 games) and Wyatt Johnston of the Dallas Stars (76) for the most goals by a rookie this season.
"It's very cool," Marchenko said. "I'm very happy to score these 21 goals and the last goal here at the home rink. On the trip, it's not as much fun, but here, it's our fans.
"It's a first for me, the first goal in overtime. It's a great feeling. I really like it. I want to score more, of course, but it's a really good feeling. Great pass from Johnny, I just take [the] puck and shoot."
Boone Jenner tied it 3-3 at 14:11 of the third period, skating into the puck after Artem Zub poked it away from Marchenko in the left circle.
Johnson gave Columbus a 1-0 lead at 2:41 of the first period, scoring blocker side from the right circle on a power play.
Gambrell tied it 1-1 at 4:00 when he crashed the net and redirected in a centering pass by Erik Brannstrom.
Robinson scored five seconds later from the left circle to put Columbus back in front 2-1.
"They've got lots of skilled players who can score goals," Brannstrom said. "We've got to be ready from the start."
Kastelic tied it 2-2 at 9:26 on a rebound in the right circle. The goal happened after Gillies lost the blade of his right skate, got turned around and made a pad save on a point shot by Tyler Kleven.

"I didn't know what [Gillies] was doing, I thought maybe he got hit or something," Kastelic said.
Gillies, who was making his first NHL start since April 28, 2022, earned his first win since Feb. 10, 2022.
"I was able to make the first save (on Kleven), but it went right to the guy for a one-timer," Gillies said. "It did bother me. It was kind of funny, actually. It's unfortunate it went in, but stuff happens."
DeBrincat gave Ottawa a 3-2 lead at 14:46 of the first. He picked up the puck following an offensive-zone face-off win by Ridly Greig and scored from the high slot.
"I got myself distracted. I'm not sure what," Gillies said. "I wish I had that one back, but the guys bailed me out.'
NOTES:Senators goalie Mads Sogaard did not travel due to an illness. Leevi Merilainen was recalled from Belleville of the American Hockey League earlier Sunday and served as the backup … Robinson has an NHL career-high 11 goals in 69 games this season. … Columbus defenseman Billy Sweezey had an assist for his first NHL point in five games.