After going 2-1-0 on their three-game road trip, the Ottawa Senators now have a huge advantage. Nine of the next 11 games will be played at home. The first home game is against an opponent the Senators haven't played all season, the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Just like the Detroit Red Wings last game, the Blue Jackets are behind the Senators in the Eastern Conference standings. Tonight offers as another chance for the Senators to gain ground on teams behind them in the middle of the playoff chase.
Ottawa meets Columbus for first time this season
The Senators host the Blue Jackets at Canadian Tire Centre with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
Thursday night saw another nail biting game against the Red Wings. The Senators earned a pivotal 4-3 win in Detroit to now have 81 points on the season to remain in the first Wild Card spot in the standings.
Thomas Chabot, Tim Stutzle, David Perron and Michael Amadio each scored a goal for the Senators in the win. Linus Ullmark made 31 saves to help him go 3-0-0 against the Red Wings this season.
Perron and Amadio each continued their impressive March with scoring a goal. Perron picked up his 10th point in the month of March. For Amadio, his goal was his sixth goal and second game-winning goal in March.
As for the Blue Jackets, they come into tonight's game with a 33-29-9 record. After the Blue Jackets won 7-6 in a shootout against the Vancouver Canucks, the Montreal Canadiens losing in regulation and the New York Rangers falling in overtime, all of which happened last night, the Blue Jackets jumped into the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference with 75 points.
Zach Werenski leads the Blue Jackets with 70 points and 50 assists. Kirill Marchenko leads the Blue Jackets with 27 goals. Including Werenski and Marchenko, the Blue Jackets have five 20-goal scorers on their team, but don't have another player on the roster with over 50 points besides Werenski and Marchenko.
In the three meetings against the Blue Jackets last season, the Senators went 2-1-0 in the season series. In the only meeting in Ottawa last season, the Senators won 6-3. In the win, Brady Tkachuk recorded a hat trick and Claude Giroux recorded a three-point game.