OTTAWA SENATORS NOTES:
LAST GAME: April 1, 3-0 loss vs. Toronto: The Maple Leafs reached the 100-point mark on the season in handing Ottawa their fifth shutout loss of the season, 3-0 at Canadian Tire Centre. The contest saw all three markers realized in the middle stanza. Bunting opened the scoring for the visitors with club’s 100th second period goal of the season, the second-highest total of all teams. Nylander recorded his 11th career goal against Ottawa to contribute to his 28 total points against the Senators, his most against any one opponent while Zohorna concluded the scoring with a marker in his first game with Toronto. Samsonov stopped each of the 30 shots he faced for his fourth shutout of the season. Sogaard started for the Senators and made 13 saves in 40 minutes of action before leaving the game and being replaced by Talbot who stopped each of the four shots he faced in the third period. Scratches: None; Injuries: Brassard, Chabot, Chychrun, Forsberg, Gauthier*, Hamonic, Greig, Joseph, Kelly, Norris; Shots: OTT – 30, TOR – 20; PP: OTT – 0-2, TOR – 0-1.
BROADCAST INFORMATION: This evening’s game against Columbus will be broadcast regionally on TSN5 and RDS. On the radio, the game will be available locally via TSN 1200 (English) and 94,5 Unique-FM (French).
WHAT’S NEXT: Ottawa continues a three-game road trip against Carolina on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. The contest will mark the second of three regular-season meetings and the second of two matchups at PNC Arena.
INJURY REPORT: G Forsberg and C Norris are on IR and will not oppose the Blue Jackets this evening. F Kelly has missed the last 10 games with a lower-body injury. D Chychrun and C Greig have missed the last four games with a lower body and upper body injury respectively. D Chabot has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury. F Brassard and D Hamonic missed Saturday evening’s game with lower-body injuries. Total man-games lost: 285.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS: Recalled D Bernard-Docker from Belleville (AHL) on March 31.
OTTAWA vs. COLUMBUS – History:
2022-23 (2-0-0): Jan. 3 @ Ottawa (4-0 win), March 4 @ Ottawa (5-2 win), April 2 @ Columbus
2021-22 (2-1-0): 1/23/22 @ Columbus (2-1 win), 3/16/22 @ Ottawa (4-1 loss), 4/22/22 @ Columbus (2-1 SO win)
Series record: Overall: 19-12-2-4; Home: 11-5-1-2; Away: 8-7-1-2
Last Ottawa win: @ Ottawa: March 4 (5-2); @ Columbus: 4/22/22 (2-1 SO)
Last Columbus win: @ Ottawa: 3/16/22 (4-1); @ Columbus: 2/24/20 (4-3 OT)
Last OT result: 2/24/20 (4-3 OT loss) @ Columbus
Last shootout: 4/22/22 (2-1 SO win) @ Columbus
Most goals, game: Scored: 7, (10/14/15, 7-3 win); Allowed: 7, (1/22/17, 7-6 OT loss); Both teams: 13, (1/22/17, 7-6 OT loss)
Last Game: March 4, 5-2 win @ Ottawa; OTT Goals: Hamonic (x2), Stützle (x2), Chychrun; CBJ Goals: Roslovic, Laine; OTT
Scratches: Brown, Holden, Kelly; OTT Injuries: Forsberg, Norris; OTT Goalie: Talbot; CBJ Goalie: Merzlikins (4 GA, L, 23:04), Hutchinson (1 GA, 36:56); OTT PP: 0-2; CBJ PP: 1-2; Shots: 39-21.
Career vs. Columbus: Giroux leads all players in career games played (36), in goals (11), in assists (24) and in points (35); Hamonic leads in penalty minutes (18) against Columbus.
SWEATER WEATHER: The Senators enter their third season of wearing a primary logo which sees the organization return to its roots with the implementation of the modified original “2D” logo. The team has earned a 88-100-16 all-time record (33-33-5 this season) while wearing its current sweater. Ottawa unveiled their Reverse Retro jersey on Oct. 20 and wore the sweater on five occasions in 2022-23 (4-1-0 this season). The Senators hold an all-time record of 116-76-7-25 when wearing an alternate; 27-19-2-5 when wearing a red alternate, 88-56-5-19 when wearing a black alternate and 1-1-0-1 when wearing a cream alternate.
ROAD SCHOLARS: The Senators have a record of 15-20-2 on the road this season … Brady Tkachuk leads with 14 goals on the road this season while also ranking first with 20 assists while the Senators serve as visitors … Through 37 road games this season, Tkachuk maintains the club lead with 34 points … The Senators registered an 18-20-3 record over 41 road contests in 2021-22.
BACK-TO-BACK GAMES: Ottawa will play back-to-back games on 12 occasions in 2022-23 and will conclude their 12th set of the season this evening when team visits Columbus … The Senators played 17 back-to-back sets last season and earned a record of 6-9-2 in the first half of contests on consecutive nights (7-5-0 this season) while posting an 8-8-1 record (6-5-0 this season) in the second half of games on consecutive days.
ON THE POWER PLAY: The Senators are 69 for 281 (24.6%) on the power-play in 2022-23 … Drake Batherson leads with 14 powerplay goals while Alex DeBrincat and Tkachuk maintain the club lead with 28 points while the team enjoys a man advantage … Ottawa has recorded multiple power-play goals 18 times in an individual contest in 2022-23 after having done so 11 times in 2021-22.
ON THE PENALTY KILL: Ottawa has overcome 220 of the 269 occasions the team has been shorthanded in 2022-23 to maintain an efficiency of 81.8% through 76 regular-season games … The team has registered nine (Stützle x3, Watson x3, Joseph x2, Motte) shorthanded markers this season after recording nine such goals in 2021-22.
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS NOTES:
Apr. 2, 2023 Game No. 76 (23-44-8, 54 pts.)
vs. Ottawa Senators (37-34-5, 79 pts.), Nationwide Arena Home Game No. 38 (14-21-2, 30 pts.) The Blue Jackets Press Box website, which includes game notes, stats, releases and video/audio clips as well as the 2022-23 Media Guide can be accessed at bluejackets.com/pressbox. Follow @BlueJacketsPR on Twitter for comprehensive information and updates on the team.
THE LAST GAME: APR. 1, 2023 – CBJ 0 vs. FLA 7
CBJ Goal Scorers:
FLA Goal Scorers: PP – Reinhart (29), Verhaeghe (37), Verhaeghe (38), Verhaeghe (39), Cousins (8), Verhaeghe (40), Staal (14)
Goalies: CBJ – Hutchinson (42/49; 60:00); FLA – Lyon (21/21; 60:00)
CBJ PP: 0/4; PK: 2/3 | Shots: CBJ: 21 / FLA: 49
3 Stars: 1. Verhaeghe, FLA; 2. Lyon, FLA; 3. Barkov, FLA
Noteworthy: CBJ fell for their 4th-straight game (0-3-1)… CBJ fell 1-2-0 in season series to FLA… FLA scored twice in the 1st two periods and three in the third… Luoto and Richards both made their CBJ debuts… Jenner and Gaudreau led CBJ in shots with 4 each… Sweezey led the club in hits with 5 (28 total).
OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT
Danforth (torn labrum); Placed on Injured Reserve (Oct. 25); approximately 6 months (69 games)
Werenski (torn labrum); Placed on Injured Reserve (retro to Nov. 10); rest of regular season (62 games)
Bean (shoulder); Placed on IR (retro to Nov. 15); out indefinitely (60 games)
Laine (triceps strain); approximately two-four weeks (5 games)
Gudbranson (separated shoulder); approximately six weeks (4 games)
Olivier (lower leg bone bruise); approximately two-four weeks (4 games)
Blankenburg (ankle); week-to-week (3 games)
Merzlikins (lower body); day-to-day (3 games)
Boqvist (illness); day-to-day (2 games)
Roslovic (upper body); day-to-day (1 game)
Pederson (upper body); day-to-day (1 game)
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 492
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Apr. 1 Added Bjork, Luoto and Richards to the roster on emergency recall from Cleveland (AHL) and assigned Fix-Wolansky to Cleveland (AHL)
Mar. 31 Added Dunne to the roster on emergency recall from Cleveland (AHL)
Mar. 31 Assigned Bjork to Cleveland (AHL)
Mar. 30 Added Bjork to the roster on emergency recall from Cleveland (AHL)
Mar. 27 Added Sweezey to roster on emergency recall from Cleveland (AHL)
Mar. 26 Added Gillies to roster on emergency recall from Cleveland (AHL) and assigned Lalonde to Cleveland (AHL)
TONIGHT’S GAME BROADCAST INFO
7pm ET | Bally Sports Ohio | 97.1 The Fan
AGAINST THE SENATORS
2022-23 Series: 0-2-0 (0-0-0 vs. OTT)
2021-22 Series: 1-1-1 (0-1-1 vs. OTT)
All-Time Series: 16-17-2-2 (9-7-1-1 vs. OTT)
Last 10 (Overall | Home): 5-3-2 | 6-3-1
All-Time GF/GA: 103/107
All-Time SF/SA: 1,154/1,096
All-Time PP: 26-of-137
All-Time PK: 103-of-130
THE LAST GAME VS. OTT: MAR. 4, 2023 – CBJ 2 at OTT 5
CBJ Goal Scorers: Roslovic (7), PP – Laine (19)
OTT Goal Scorers: Hamonic (4), Stutzle (30), Hamonic (5), Chychrun (8), SHG – Stutzle (31)
Goalies: CBJ – Merzlikins (19/23; 23:04), Hutchinson (15/16; 36:56); OTT – Talbot (19/21; 59:47)
CBJ PP: 1/2; PK: 2/2 | Shots: CBJ: 21 / OTT: 39
3 Stars: 1. Stutzle, OTT; 2. Hamonic, OTT; 3. Chychrun, OTT
Noteworthy: CBJ trailed 2-1 after the 1st period and 4-2 after the 2nd period… Laine scored his team-leading 19th goal of the season (tied) to extend his points streak to 3-straight contests (2-2-4)… Roslovic scored a goal to give him 3-2-5 in his last 5 outings… Marchenko tallied his 2nd assist of the campaign, giving him 2-1-3 in his past 5 games… Hutchinson made his CBJ debut in relief.
SEASON SERIES LEFT: Series is complete.
NOTED (Team Highlights vs. OTT)
CBJ have recorded points in 9 of last 12 meetings vs. OTT dating back to 3/17/18 (7-3-2)… 5 of the last 8 meetings have been decided by a single goal (CBJ; 3-3-2) with 3 of them decided in OT… The club has killed off 30-of-34 Ottawa power play chances over the last 15 meetings dating back to 3/4/17 (88.2 pct.)… CBJ and OTT have split the 6 shutouts in the all-time series at 3 each with the Senators recording the most recent one in the earlier game this season by Anton Forsberg in a 4-0 win over CBJ in Ottawa on Jan. 3, 2023 (22 saves)…. OTT has registered both hat tricks and owns all three penalty shot attempts in the series… Most goals scored vs. OTT: 6 – 2x (MR: 12/31/18)… Most goals allowed vs. OTT: 7 (10/14/15).
NOTED (Player Highlights vs. OTT)
Bayreuther notched 1st NHL goal on 11/23/18 vs. OTT… Gudbranson skated in his 100th career NHL game on 4/7/13 vs. OTT… Jenner recorded his 100th NHL career assist on 11/25/19 vs. OTT… Laine skated in his 100th NHL career game on 12/3/17 vs. OTT and notched his 8th career hat trick on 2/8/20 vs. OTT.
PLAYER NOTABLES vs. OTT
• Gaudreau – 6-15-21 in 25 career GP, including 3-7-10 with 2 multi-point efforts in his last 12 contests overall vs. the club as well as points in each of his last 6 home games against Ottawa (2-6-8) and 8 of his 11 career home contests (4-9-13)
• Jenner – 4-4-8 in 19 career GP, including 1-3-4 in his last 5 home games against the Senators
• Roslovic – 4-1-5 in 9 career GP, including goals in 3 of the last 4 games played (4-0-4).
BACK-TO-BACK AT HOME
The Blue Jackets fell for their fourth-straight game (0-3-1) following Saturday’s 7-0 loss to the Panthers. Columbus plays their second of two back-to-back home sets this season on Saturday vs. Florida and Sunday vs. Ottawa (also on Nov. 19 vs. DET and on Nov. 20 vs. FLA). It’s the club’s 16th of 17 back-to-back games in 2022-23. Columbus plays four of its last seven games of the season at Nationwide Arena. The Jackets are 7-10-4 in their last 21 games and have registered points in 12 of their last 23 contests (8-11-4), with wins against five of the top-15 teams in the League in points (Toronto-6th; Edmonton-7th; Dallas-11th; Winnipeg-14th; NY Islanders-14th). Thursday’s game at Boston kicked off a stretch of four-straight against the Atlantic Division (Boston, Florida, Ottawa, Toronto).
2022-23 TEAM QUICK HITS
• CBJ, who picked up their 12th comeback victory of the season (5 by multiple goal deficits) with a 5-4 OTW vs. NYI on 3/24., have come-from-behind to win in 7 of their last 10 victories
• CBJ blueliners have collected 7-27-34 in the last 25 games and have recorded 28-83-111 in 75 games
• CBJ finished with a season-high 12 skaters recording a point on 3/21 at WSH (also on 11/17 vs. MTL)
• CBJ have had 41 different players play in a game this season (37 skaters, 4 goaltenders), with Luoto and Richards both making their CBJ debuts on Sat. vs. FLA
• CBJ have recorded 47 multi-goal periods this season, including scoring 2 goals in the 1st period on Tue.
• CBJ were tied for 3rd-youngest team in the NHL (ARI and NJD) to start the season at 25.9, trailing only BUF (25.0) and OTT (25.7)
