Forsberg stops 35, Senators rally for shootout win against Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS -- Anton Forsberg made 35 saves, and the Ottawa Senators rallied for a 3-2 shootout win against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Thursday.

Claude Giroux scored in regulation and had the deciding goal in the sixth round of the shootout for the Senators (27-33-4), who have won two in a row.

“We had some highs, some lows,” Ottawa coach Jacques Martin said. “I thought we started a little slow in the third period, but it seemed like halfway through we came back. We got the first goal after we gave up the second. That gave us some life and then we got back to our game.”

Boone Jenner and Alexander Nylander scored, and Johnny Gaudreau had two assists for the Blue Jackets (22-33-11), who have lost three straight (0-2-1). Elvis Merzlikins made 35 saves.

“It's so unfortunate,” Gaudreau said. “I don’t think we gave them that much in those two periods and they found a way to come back, tie it up and we couldn't close it out in the shootout.

“We have to keep working on playing with leads and try to keep attacking, and they found a way to get a couple and tie it.”

Jenner scored 15 seconds into the first period to give the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead. He scored from the slot after the Senators turned the puck over while trying to clear the zone.

“That’s tough,” Forsberg said. “Obviously, not what you want to do. Just move on from it. After that, I thought the team played well. I played myself up, too.”

Nylander made it 2-0 at 5:21 of the third period with a power-play goal. He swatted in a loose puck in front after Gaudreau's cross-ice pass was batted down by Giroux. Nylander has eight points (six goals, two assists) in 10 games since being acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 22.

Giroux cut it to 2-1 at 7:25, finishing a backdoor pass from Boris Katchouk at the right post.

“We were doing a lot of good things, to be honest,” Giroux said. “The first shift we weren’t ready to play. When you’re trailing early like that sometimes it can deflate you. We just kept playing, just kept playing our game and just waited for our chances.”

Tim Stützle then tied it 2-2 at 12:27 when he beat Merzlikins five-hole from the left circle.

“We played our best period in the third,” Columbus coach Pascal Vincent said. “The initial chances we have is 13-4 for us in the third. We had chances to put the game away in the third. … Two missed assignments and the puck is in the back of your net.”

Stutzle was pleased with the outcome more than the performance.

“Personally, it was one of the worst games I’ve played the last eight games,” he said. “I didn’t create a lot. Our line should have played way better than we did, but in the end, we stuck with it.

“Obviously, it’s frustrating when you don’t really get good looks. They boxed out really well. They gave their goalie a view of almost every shot. It’s all about sticking with it. That’s what we did. We came back. It’s all about getting that first goal. Their goalie was great tonight. Our goalie was better.”

NOTES: Senators forward Parker Kelly returned from a two-game suspension for an illegal check to the head against Los Angeles Kings defenseman Andreas Englund on March 7. He played 11:23 and had one block and one takeaway. … Jenner’s goal was the fastest to start a game for the Blue Jackets since Nov. 7, 2019 (Gustav Nyquist, 14 seconds at the Arizona Coyotes), and the sixth-fastest in franchise history. ... Jenner is the fourth player in Blue Jackets history to have at least four 20-goal seasons. … Columbus played nearly the entire game with five defensemen after Adam Boqvist left with an upper-body injury at 2:40 of the first period. Vincent had no update. … Blue Jackets forward Mikael Pyyhtia made his season debut after he was recalled on an emergency basis from Cleveland of the American Hockey League on Wednesday. He was minus-1 with three shots on goal in 9:48 of ice time.