FINAL: Blue Jackets 4, Senators 3 (OT)

The Blue Jackets snapped an eight-game losing streak and moved back into the second wild card position in the Eastern Conference with a 4-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators in overtime on Monday night at Nationwide Arena.
Game in a Paragraph
Columbus played another wild, back-and-forth game, but unfortunately for the team, the familiar injury bug hit again as the Blue Jackets lost both goalie Elvis Merzlikins and forward Riley Nash to game-ending injuries. Columbus led 1-0 before Ottawa grabbed leads of 2-1 and 3-2 but rallied to force overtime, where Emil Bemstrom tallied on a rebound to give the Blue Jackets the win after five losses in the last seven games in overtime or a shootout.

Quote of the Game
Head coach John Tortorella: "I mean, we were awful the first part of that first period, but I just respect our guys, and they gathered themselves. Did we play a great game? No. Did we play hard? Yes."
CBJ Notables

Quick Recap (PHOTO GALLERY)
Ottawa dominated the first 10 minutes and change of the first period, but it was a 1-1 game after that stretch. In fact, Columbus got on the board first, with Foligno scoring just 4:10 into the game on the team's first shot on goal. A good forecheck by the top line paid off as Pierre-Luc Dubois got the puck in the left corner and fired a nifty diagonal pass to Foligno as he cut to the net, and the captain beat Ottawa goalie Marcus Hogberg past the pad to make it 1-0.
But the Senators continued to push the pace and got the equalizer at 10:50 on a nice link-up between Chris Tierney and Connor Brown. Tierney had the puck below the goal line and laid it off to Brown as he wrapped around the net, and it was an easy finish for Brown from the side of the net as Merzlikins had followed the play to the opposite post.
The 1-1 score held until the middle of the second period when the Senators went back on top with a power-play goal. Nine seconds after Foligno was whistled for an interference penalty, Browns shot from the right circle got through a screen and past Merzlikins at 9:55.
Anthony Duclair nearly doubled the lead shortly thereafter as his breakaway attempt hit the post, but more impactful, the former CBJ forward crashed into Merzlikins after his shot and the CBJ goalie's head went backwards into the post. Merzlikins left the game and did not return after making 16 saves, with Korpisalo entering.
Columbus tied the score, though, at 12:32 as Foligno netted his second of the night. After Vladislav Gavrikov kept the puck in at the blue line, he found Boone Jenner on the right wall, and his pass to Foligno at the back door led to an easy tap-in for the captain and a 2-2 game.
Hogberg made a stop on Kevin Stenlund on the doorstep in the first minute of the third with the CBJ on the power play, and Korpisalo made a good denial of Thomas Chabot seven minutes into the period as the Sens defenseman skated in with speed.
The teams then tallied just 29 seconds apart as a 2-2 game became 3-3. The Senators tallied with 10:44 to go on an odd-man rush as Jayce Hawryluk deflected a pass into Korpisalo then had his rebound denied, but Colin White followed up and swatted the puck past the CBJ goalie. But then at 9:45, Matteau answered as he tipped Scott Harrington's shot from the left point perfectly past Hogberg as it went bar down over the goalie's left shoulder.
The game stayed tied through the rest of regulation, leading to overtime. There, the Blue Jackets had a number of great chances before Bemstrom finally slammed home the rebound of a shot by Zach Werenski at 4:35 of overtime to give Columbus the win.
3 Takeaways
1. In some ways, it felt like this game would follow a familiar script - the Blue Jackets would lose someone to injury (well, two someones), and then they would lose in overtime. That's how it's gone of late, and the second-period injuries to Nash and Merzlikins did leave the team shorthanded. (It's also fair to point out Ottawa had its own personnel issues amid a wild game, as Duclair and White each left the game in the third and forward Rudolf Balcers couldn't take the ice, as he arrived during the game on trade deadline day but his gear did not.) But on this night, the Blue Jackets finally got the overtime win they needed thanks to a dominant extra frame -- the team outshot Ottawa 5-1 -- and Bemstrom's winner. The Swedish rookie has talked recently about how he wants to help be part of the solution to the team's goal scoring problems, and suddenly he has key tallies in two straight games. "I've been waiting for (ice time in OT) all season," Bemstrom said. "The first time, I scored, so that's not bad."
2. The anger was visible on Foligno as he faced a camera and spoke to CBJ radio broadcaster Bob McElligott after the first period. Use any adjective you want -- steamed, irate, or the like -- but the disappointment with the team's start was real, especially on a day when Ottawa traded three of its best players and the Blue Jackets flatly needed two points. The captain later called it a "really ugly" first 10 minutes -- Columbus gave up 17 of the first 21 shot attempts of the game -- but was proud of how his team responded. He also clearly had some words for the squad once he stopped talking with McElligott and finally got to the locker room. "I heard him between periods," Tortorella said. "I thought he handled the room very well. I thought the team handled themselves very well, which was very important there."
3. Columbus got yeoman's work from up and down the lineup, and we could point out players who stepped up and played huge minutes, especially after Nash left. Foligno and Jenner played like leaders, with the captain totaling 25:10 of ice time and Jenner chipping in two assists in 22:57. But we'll also spotlight both Matteau and Korpisalo. For Matteau, a guy who didn't even have a CBJ contract as of this time last week has stepped in and been a point-per-game player in three games. "We're in a push here and I'm trying to make myself feel like part of the team right away," he said. "These minutes are appreciated, but I'm working hard for them." As for Korpisalo, he jumped right in and didn't miss a beat despite nearly two months off. He was greeted by a standing ovation by the Nationwide Arena faithful when he stepped on the ice and then went out and played like the All-Star he is. "I was pretty confident right away," he said. "Their first shot, it's, 'OK, let's play hockey again.'"
Notable
The Blue Jackets finished with 45 shots on goal, topping 40 for the second straight game. ... Columbus has points in 30 of 35 games (20-5-10). ... Gavrikov's assist gave him helpers in three straight games. … Markus Nutivaara led the team with six shots on goal, not including one he put on Korpisalo's net in the third period while trying to play the puck off the wall behind the CBJ net. ... The Blue Jackets have played in one-goal contests (excluding empty-net goals) in 14 of the last 15 games and 40 overall this season. ... In addition to Ottawa playing a man short because Balcers' gear did not arrive, fellow forward Mathew Peca arrived late and did not make it to the ice until the middle of the first period. … Columbus improved to 8-0-1 on Mondays this year. ... The Blue Jackets scored in all three periods and overtime for the first time this season. ... The Blue Jackets finished the season series 2-0-1 and is 6-0-1 in its last seven vs. Ottawa.
Roster Report
The Blue Jackets used the same lineup as Saturday night in Nashville, though there were two roster moves between then -- newly acquired forward Devin Shore was scratched while Joonas Korpisalo was the backup goalie while dressing for the first time since Dec. 29. Other scratches were injured forward Oliver Bjorkstrand and defenseman Gabriel Carlsson.
Up Next
The Blue Jackets get right back at it Tuesday night, taking on Minnesota in St. Paul in the first meeting of the year between the two teams - and the first in four days.