The Columbus Blue Jackets (20-36-6) and their stifling penalty killing defense are on the road to take on the Ottawa Senators (31-26-4), one of the league’s weakest power play offenses, at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday.
Columbus is playing on back-to-back days after suffering a 4-2 loss against the Kraken yesterday. The Blue Jackets committed four penalties in the game, conceding two power play goals. Adam Boqvist and Patrik Laine each scored once for the Blue Jackets.
Boqvist and Laine both added an assist to lead the team in scoring. Elvis Merzlikins saved 31 of 34 shots in the loss.Ottawa won for the fourth game in a row, beating the Rangers 5-3 on Thursday.
Derick Brassard scored twice to lead the Senators. Claude Giroux had a goal and two assists to lead the team in scoring. Cam Talbot had 29 saves.
HEAD TO HEAD
The Senators won the first meeting between the teams this season, a 4-0 victory in January. Tim Stuetzle (1G 1A) and Giroux (0G 2A) each had two points to lead Ottawa. Anton Forsberg saved 22 shots to earn the shutout win.
FACING OFF
Columbus is averaging 2.58 goals per game for the season, 30th in the NHL, and they are taking on a Senators team that is allowing 3.13 goals a game (16th).
Meanwhile, Ottawa has found the net 3.15 times a game on average, 16th in the league, and the Blue Jackets are allowing opponents to score 3.68 goals per game (30th).
Power play opportunities ought to be plentiful for the Blue Jackets, as the Senators have been penalized 4.66 times a game, third-most in the NHL, for an average of 11.46 minutes (fourth-highest).
The visitors are averaging 3.68 penalties (18th) and 8.31 penalty minutes a game (22nd). The Senators’ 25.22% power play percentage is the third-best in the league, while the Blue Jackets rank 28th with a conversion rate of just 17.18%.
Ottawa has been equally successful at penalty killing, boasting the league’s third-highest PK% at 83.48%. Columbus ranks 21st at 76.32%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 55 points this season, Johnny Gaudreau is the top skater for the Blue Jackets. He has 15 goals and 40 assists in 60 games. In the net, Joonas Korpisalo (11-11-3) is Columbus’ top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 3.17 GAA and a .911% save percentage.
Brady Tkachuk (65 points), Stuetzle (64), and Giroux (63) lead the Senators in scoring. Tkachuk has 26 goals and 39 assists in 61 games, while Stuetzle has 29 goals and 35 assists in 57 games. Giroux has 26 goals and 37 assists. Talbot (14-14-1) has the best goals against average for Ottawa at 2.88. He has a save percentage of .905%.
HOME AND AWAY
Columbus is 7-17-4 away from Nationwide Arena this season. Ottawa has won three straight at home this season. Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets are 3-9 without a day off and 1-4 playing with a rest disadvantage. The Senators are 4-0 with a rest advantage.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
Ottawa Senators (-250)
Want up to a $1K risk free bet for this pick?
Claim with 
today!
If you need more news, information and predictions, head over to our NHL hub page for all your NHL needs!
*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
