The Ottawa Senators lost to Columbus Blue Jackets on the road, after conceding a goal late into the overtime, 4-3. This was the third straight loss for the Sens, who had a pretty turbulent day behind themselves.
The franchise from the capital of Canada traded three of their very important players, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Vladislav Namestnikov, and Tyler Ennis, indicating that they want to make a complete rebuilt of the team.
Pageau was sent to the New York Islanders for three draft picks, Namestnikov ended up in Colorado in exchange for a fourth-rounder, while Tyler Ennis finished in Edmonton for a 2021 fifth-round pick at the NHL entry draft. All this indicates that Ottawa might be making big moves this summer.
As for the game, it was pretty interesting, with both teams having the lead and topping one another. As we said, in the end, the hosts had more luck, with Emil Bemstrom’s game-winner at 4:35 into the OT. The 20-year old Swed netted following Zach Wereneski’s shot, on a rebound, to bring the first win for John Tortorella’s boys.
“I’ve been waiting for that all season,” Bemstrom said. “That’s the first time I’ve scored [in overtime], so I guess I’m happy.”
Nick Foligno scored the opener, 4:10, since the start of the match. It was his first of the game, as he also tied with 12:32 of the second, at 2-2.
In the meantime, Senators’ Connor Brown showcased his skills and scored twice himself. His first goal came at 10:48, and brought the lead to Ottawa with 9:55 of the second. The latter score was during a power-play situation on the ice.
Colin White pushed the Senators to a 3-2 advantage midway through the last frame, to be exact at 9:16, but Stefan Matteau leveled the score just 29 seconds later.
It was the turning point of this match, as Blue Jackets cut the momentum of the guests, who were just starting to create positive energy for themselves.
“After that, I think we took off and controlled the OT as well, so I think that set up the rest of the game for us,” said Joonas Korpisalo, Columbus’ goalie, who had to replace the starter Elvis Merzlikins. Merzlikins had a nasty crash with Anthony Duclair in the second period, and needed to leave the ice.
For Korpisalo, this was the first game after December 29, once he picked up an injury against the Chicago Blackhawks.
“I didn’t plan on that,” Korpisalo said. “It’s sad to see something like that kind of stuff happen to Elvis. I didn’t see what really happened, but it’s not fun.”
His Columbus (31-19-14) snapped a pretty bad series they had over the recent few weeks. However, they had five points recorded during this stretch, and that is what kept them in the combination for the playoffs. They head for Minnesota now, to meet the Wild in second of back-to-back nights. After that, they face the same rival only on Friday, at home.
Ottawa (21-30-12) goes to Nashville also tonight, before coming back home and playing against the Canucks and the Red Wings.
