Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk (7) fights Columbus Blue Jackets defenceman Erik Gudbranson (44) for the puck during second period NHL hockey action in Ottawa on Saturday, March 4, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
OTTAWA – Jakob Chychrun made a solid first impression on home ice picking up a goal and an assist in a 5-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets Saturday night.
Chychrun was acquired Wednesday from the Arizona Coyotes to shore up Ottawa’s blue line.
The Senators (32-26-4) are riding a five-game winning streak and continue to stay within the pack fighting for the final wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference, sitting three points back of Pittsburgh (31-21-9), which lost 4-1 earlier in the evening to the Florida Panthers.
Travic Hamonic and Tim Stutzle each scored a pair, while Cam Talbot made 18 saves.
Jack Roslovic and Patrick Laine scored for the Blue Jackets (20-37-6), who lost his second straight. Elvis Merzlikins was pulled after allowing four goals on 23 shots. Michael Hutchinson stopped 17 shots.
Stutzle scored his second of the night on a short-handed breakaway after Nick Blankenburg lost a skate blade.
Ottawa extended its lead in the second to make it 4-2 and were outshooting Columbus 29-11.
Hamonic, playing in his 780th career game, scored his second of the night early in the second to record his first multi-goal game.
Chychrun then scored his first as a Senator taking a pass from Erik Brannstrom and fired a wrister past Merzlikins, putting an end to his night.
Hutchinson, acquired Thursday from Vegas, came in making his debut with the Blue Jackets.
Columbus managed to cut the lead in half with Laine’s power-play goal midway through the period.
The teams exchanged goals 18 seconds apart to open the scoring in the first.
Hamonic beat Merzlikins with a shot from the top of the faceoff circle, but Columbus tied it moments later when Roslovic took advantage of a turnover along the boards and fired a wrister that beat Talbot.
Ottawa took the lead on Stutzle’s 30th of the season, scoring from in close.
INTERESTING FACT
Jakob Chychryn has numerous ties to Ottawa. His father, Jeff, grew up in Nepean and went on to play for Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh and Edmonton. Chicago Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson, also from Ottawa, is his uncle.
NOTES
Derick Brassard, who played his 1,000th game Thursday, was honoured before puck drop. The newly acquired Patrick Brown was a healthy scratch, as were Nick Holden and Parker Kelly for the Senators. Columbus will be without centre Sean Kuraly for six weeks.
UP NEXT
The Senators play their next five on the road starting Tuesday in Chicago, while Columbus heads to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins Tuesday night.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 4, 2023.
