Batherson, Sanderson score as Senators beat Blue Jackets 3-2
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Drake Batherson and Jake Sanderson scored for Ottawa and the Senators beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 on Saturday night in a matchup of teams vying for playoff spots.
Ridly Greig had a goal and an assist as Ottawa won for the third time in four games and strengthened its hold on the first wild card in the Eastern Conference. Linus Ullmark had 29 saves.
Boone Jenner and Kirill Marchenko scored for Columbus, which was coming off a 7-6 shootout win over Vancouver the previous night. Daniil Tarasov finished with 24 saves.
The Blue Jackets remained tied with Montreal, now two points behind the Rangers for the second wild card in the East after New York beat San Jose later Saturday night.
Marchenkov pulled the Blue Jackets to 3-2, beating Ullmark five-hole midway through the third to silence a boisterous Ottawa crowd.
The Senators took a 3-1 lead in the second when Tarasov stopped Shane Pinto before Sanderson got a piece of the rebound.
Greig opened the scoring deftly tipping Thomas Chabot’ point shot. Columbus tied it 31 seconds later with Jenner burying the rebound of Zach Werenski’s shot.
Batherson regained the lead for the Senators by grabbing the rebound of Dylan Cozens’ shot and sweeping it under Tarasov for his 21st of the season.
Takeaways
Senators: Ottawa had a strong net front presence and it paid off. The Senators have a firm grip on the first wild card in the Eastern Conference.
Blue Jackets: Despite playing the night before, Columbus never let up and making it a one-goal game with 9 minutes left in the third.
Key moment
Ullmark made a save on Dmitri Voronkov in the final minute of the first that proved to be crucial.
Key stat
Ottawa’s Shane Pinto played his 200th NHL game Saturday and picked up his 100th point with an assist on Sanderson’s goal in the second period.
Up next
Blue Jackets host Nashville on Tuesday, and Senators visit Pittsburgh on Sunday.
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