Roslovic scores twice, helps Blue Jackets top Senators

OTTAWA --Jack Roslovic scored twice for the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 4-1 win against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Wednesday.

"I'm trying to build that structured game and be able to make plays consistently," Roslovic said. "Don't turn the puck over, just make the right plays and be a good all-around player.
"The [previous] 15 games, I don't think I've really had too much point production (seven points; two goals, five assists), but I just feel more patient with it, more calm. I feel like I'm developing all those skills that will boost me, and eventually the points and the stats will come."

Patrik Laine and Zach Werenski each had two assists, and Elvis Merzlikins made 30 saves for the Blue Jackets (31-27-3), who have won three straight.
"It was kind of a weird game a little bit," Werenski said. "I thought we played well in the first. It's a tie game after, but I thought we were patient. Elvis made some really big saves. We found some ways to score and to get a lead, and then we played with that lead I thought pretty well in front of [Merzlikins]. The puck was bouncing a lot tonight. Just a weird game. It felt weird out there."
Tyler Ennis scored, and Anton Forsberg made 35 saves for the Senators (21-34-5), who have lost three in a row.
"We're not scoring. That's the biggest issue," Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. "You have to score at least three goals in this league if you want to win a game. You can blame your goalie, [defense], whatever you want to blame. If you don't score three goals, you're not going to win usually."

Ennis gave the Senators a 1-0 lead at 9:48 of the first period. Thomas Chabot made a move on Columbus forward Yegor Chinakhov at the point, skated in and passed to Ennis in front.
Roslovic tied it 1-1 at 15:13 when he tapped in a cross-ice pass from Werenski on a 2-on-1.
"I think we might be overthinking. It's like we're a step behind," Ottawa defenseman Nick Holden said of his team's defensive struggles. "We're waiting for the play to happen and then we're reacting to it. Whereas, say a month ago, when we were fast on pucks and fast on bodies, everybody was just going, anticipating, getting in the right spots. Right now we're kind of just playing it slow, not wanting to get beat anywhere, which is actually creating more space, and then they're beating us."
Eric Robinson gave the Blue Jackets a 2-1 lead at 2:40 of the second period. Werenski, from his own goal line, sent a stretch pass to Robinson, who scored with a wrist shot from the right face-off dot. Merzlikins had an assist.
"When you're behind the net like that, you can kind of see the whole ice, see the whole play develop," Werenski said. "I saw it coming and I was hoping [Robinson] was thinking the same thing I was. He's so fast, it's hard to catch him. It's always fun when you can make plays like that."

Roslovic made it 3-1 at 14:21 when he got to a loose puck in the slot. He has scored 12 goals this season, matching his NHL career high from the past two seasons.
Sean Kuraly scored into an empty net at 18:23 of the third period for the 4-1 final.
"You've got to learn how to play with a lead," Columbus coach Brad Larsen said. "In the third period there, they're going to make their push, they're going to get some chances, but I thought we did a good job of minimizing the Grade-A chances, doing a good job in front of Elvis. And he made some saves at key times for us."
Chabot left the game midway through the second period with an upper-body injury. The defenseman was hit by Kuraly and was favoring his right hand for a few shifts afterward.
"I think, for us, we're still a young team, but we're getting to a point where when we're up in games we can't be turning pucks over," Senators forward Colin White said. "We've got to put it deep. I think we're still a pretty positive team, but the goals aren't coming, and it gets frustrating. I think we just need to keep coming to the rink and working hard and stick together to get through it."
NOTES: Smith said Chabot "looks like he's going to be out a while." … Senators forward Chris Tierney had an assist in 11:07 after missing eight games with a lower-body injury. … Blue Jackets forward Jakub Voracek had one shot in 14:47 after missing one game with a knee injury. On Friday, Voracek collided with Minnesota Wild forward Marcus Foligno, who was fined $5,000 for the hit. … The Blue Jackets lead the NHL with 21 comeback wins this season, the most in their history (20, 2018-19, 2005-06). … Columbus plays the Washington Capitals on Thursday.