The Columbus Blue Jackets are out to record a season-high fifth consecutive victory Tuesday when they open a season-long five-game homestand with a visit from the Ottawa Senators.
The Blue Jackets previously won four in a row from Oct. 25-Nov. 1 before matching that total following a 4-3 shootout victory in Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Kirill Marchenko scored his eighth goal in the past 13 games for Columbus, which has won three in a row since Rick Bowness replaced Dean Evason as head coach last Monday.
“Just happy. Everybody smiles,” Marchenko said of the winning streak.
Marchenko shares the team lead in goals with offensive-minded defenseman Zach Werenski.
Werenski notched an assist to extend his point streak to four games (two goals, four assists). Werenski, who leads the team in assists (34) and points (52), set up two goals in the Blue Jackets’ 6-3 loss to the Senators on Dec. 11. Columbus redeemed themselves two-and-a-half weeks later with a 4-1 win Dec. 29.
Fourth-liners Zachary Aston-Reese and Danton Heinen also tallied in regulation on Saturday against their former team.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t say it felt good,” said Heinen, who was acquired from the Penguins on Dec. 29. “But the win definitely feels better. Just try to keep this thing going. … That’s a team we’re chasing, so I think everybody realizes how big it was.”
That includes Bowness, who saw his team relinquish an early lead by surrendering two goals in the first period.
“I like how we responded after a bad first period,” Bowness said. “We weren’t very good. Give them credit, they came hard, and they were all over us really. But I really like how we adjusted, and we played a lot better in the second and the third.”
Ottawa extended its points streak to four games (2-0-2) in a 4-3 overtime loss to the streaking Detroit Red Wings on Sunday.
Drake Batherson collected a goal and an assist while Dylan Cozens and Shane Pinto also tallied for the Senators, who squandered an early two-goal lead one day after seeing a late two-goal edge evaporate in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens.
“We’ve gotten points in four of our last four games and we’ve played some good hockey,” Batherson said, per the Ottawa Citizen. “It was a bit of a dagger in the last four minutes (on Saturday) night, and considering the back-to-back, today’s game was pretty solid.”
Batherson (one goal, two assists) and Cozens (three assists) each recorded a three-point performance in the Dec. 12 meeting with the Blue Jackets.
Signed as an unrestricted free agent last Monday, James Reimer made 30 saves Sunday in his first start in the NHL since a 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on April 17.
“It’s fun to play. It’s the greatest game on Earth, right? So, it was good to be back in there,” Reimer said, per the Ottawa Citizen. “I felt pretty good. I felt like I was getting my reads and seeing the puck back there pretty well.
“The result isn’t what we want. Would have been really nice to have two points, but I thought my game was decent today, and it was a good building block.”
–Field Level Media
