Chychrun gets 1st goal with Senators in win against Blue Jackets

OTTAWA --Jakob Chychrun had a goal and an assist in his home debut for the Ottawa Senators, a 5-2 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday.

"That was a lot of fun," Chychrun said. "The boys played a pretty good game and the crowd was into it. We got the win. I don't know if any game is perfect, but it was pretty darn close."
Chychrun, who was playing in his second game with the Senators, was acquired from the Arizona Coyotes for three draft picks on March 1.
"I just wanted to come in and do what I can to help be a part of this group, keep moving this thing forward and keep growing together," Chychrun said. "I think we're taking good steps in the right direction. Fun times here."

Tim Stutzle
scored twice to extend his goal streak to four games (five goals), Travis Hamonic also scored twice, and Jake Sanderson and Mathieu Joseph each had two assists for Ottawa (32-26-4), which has won five straight and 12 of its past 16 games (12-3-1). Cam Talbot made 19 saves.
The Senators are three points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
"Credit to our guys for dragging this group along when we were down and out, essentially," Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. "What they've done here of late and what they did to stay afloat in December and January (16-10-2), our core group of guys obviously believe in each other, and obviously, there is a buzz but there's still lots of track left here."
Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic scored for Columbus (20-37-6), which was coming off a 4-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Friday.
Elvis Merzlikins allowed four goals on 23 shots before being replaced at 3:04 of the second period by Michael Hutchinson, who made 15 saves.
"We talked about it before the game that they were going to come hard, and I have no clue how we were still surprised how hard they came, especially in the beginning. And they kept coming at us the whole game," Laine said. "We were just sleeping, just sleeping for 60 minutes."

Hamonic gave the Senators a 1-0 lead at 5:17 of the first period with a one-timer from the top of the right circle to end a 35-game goal drought (Dec. 8).
Roslovic scored 18 seconds later to tie it 1-1 when he stole the puck from Sanderson at the red line and beat Talbot with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle.
"[Ottawa is] fighting for something, you know?" Roslovic said. "Those are the games we should love to be in. It was awesome seeing those guys come out as hard as they did, honestly. It's a great thing for us to take in and learn. It's the way we've got to learn how to play sooner rather than later."
Stutzle gave the Senators a 2-1 lead at 11:18. After Johnny Gaudreau turned the puck over at the Senators' blue line, Chychrun passed to Brady Tkachuk, who then sent a saucer feed to Stutzle as he crashed the net.
It was Stutzle's 30th goal of the season, the first time he has reached the mark in his three NHL seasons.
"It feels pretty good," Stutzle said. "Especially [because] my first couple years I didn't really finish that well. It feels pretty good right now. I'm really confident in the way I'm playing."

Hamonic extended it to 3-1 at 2:16 of the second period, scoring on a rebound during a delayed penalty. It was his first multigoal NHL game.
Chychrun scored 48 seconds later with a wrist shot from near the half boards that went bar down to make it 4-1.
"I had a couple looks and my shot's a big part of my game, I think," Chychrun said. "So, I like getting pucks on net and shoot and score, so definitely nice to see one go in early on here. And always nice to contribute to a win."
Laine cut it to 4-2 at 10:56. Kirill Marchenko stole the puck from Stutzle at the Senators' blue line before passing to Laine for a wrist shot from the left circle.
"You can't expect to win against anyone with that kind of game that we played today," Laine said.
Stutzle scored five-hole on a short-handed breakaway at 12:07 of the third period for the 5-2 final.
Late in the period, fans chanted, "We want playoffs."
"It kind of gave me chills, to be honest," Stutzle said. "It was so loud and it was awesome. We're playing great right now and hope to keep it going."
NOTES:Hutchinson was acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights on March 2. It was his first NHL appearance since Oct. 23, 2021, as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. … Stutzle, 21, is the second-youngest player in Ottawa history to score 30 goals in a season. Only Alexei Yashin did it at a younger age (20 in 1993-94). … Tkachuk extended his point streak to five games (two goals, four assists).