Game Day 5: OTT at CBJ

1. The set up:

It's time for round three of Sens vs Blue Jackets and this time it's winner take all with the season series split down the middle. Thus far the home team has won both match ups and the Senators will look to buck that trend tonight and make it back-to-back wins following their overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night. That win broke a seven-game losing streak, anchored by another strong outing by Joonas Korpisalo stopping 34 of the 35 shots he faced.

Columbus enters into this game coming off of back-to-back losses and yet looking like more of a threat than teams give them credit for. In the last two weeks this Blue Jackets team has beaten the Oilers and Golden Knights all without one of their young stars in Adam Fantilli. With weapons like Jahnny Gaudreau, Boone Jenner, Kirill Marchenko, Dmitri Voronkov, and Zach Werenski, the offense is not lacking in Columbus.

There's a good chance we see Korpisalo make just his second return to Columbus since being traded last year as he is set to face off against his former back up Elvis Merzlikins. Expect a high energy affair tonight as both teams look to stay alive in the playoff race.

2. Roster report:

Parker Kelly returns to the fold after serving his two-game suspension and with that the Senators have re-assigned Jiri Smejkal to Belleville. With an optional skate this morning in Columbus we didn't get a look at the projected lines however below is how the team lined up against Pittsburgh Tuesday evening.

3. Who to watch:

Fresh off a two-point and game altering outing against Pittsburgh on Tuesday night, look for Jake Sanderson to put his stamp on tonight's game. Completely avoiding a sophmore slump this season, Sanderson has elevated his game beyond even his standout rookie year last season. Sanderson has doubled his goal total with eight on the year already and 31 points sitting just one shy of the mark he set last season.

Beyond the offensive stats Sanderson has established himself as a shut down defender for the Senators. Paired with Artem Zub for most of the season, the two have become the Senators go to shut down pairing and have played a huge role for the team all season. Look for Sanderson to be all over the ice tonight.

4. Korpi heating up:

Just two weeks ago Joonas Korpisalo was held out of the Sens game against the Arizona Coyotes at the last minute due to illness. As a result he missed the game against the Coyotes, Flyers, and Ducks but made his return against the LA Kings for the back half of the Senators road trip. In his last three outings Koripsalo has a 0.923% save percentage while only allowing 2.33 goals against. If you look at just the last two games it's even better with a whopping 0.946% save percentage while only allowing 1.50 goals per game.

5. Where to watch:

Tonight's game can be found live on TSN5 in English and RDS2 in French. Additionally, TSN1200 and Unique FM 94,5 have you covered on the radio with the English and French calls.