Game #49 preview, Blue Jackets hope to capitalize against Ottawa

The Blue Jackets return to Nationwide Arena tonight, kicking off the longest homestand of the season against the Ottawa Senators. They will try to keep their winning streak intact versus a team they need to earn points against.

The Jackets blew another third period lead in Pittsburgh on Saturday night, but they were able to push back and salvage 2 points in the shootout. The massive win moved them to within 4 points of the Penguins for third place in the Metropolitan Division.

Unfortunately, the Pens won yesterday, so the Jackets find themselves 6 back yet again. However, tonight, they have an opportunity to move past their opponent in the standings.

The Opponent

As the Blue Jackets have begun to find their way this season, the Ottawa Senators are heading in the other direction. They have lost their last two games-and six of their last eight.

They currently boast an identical record to that of the Blue Jackets. Both teams are 22-19-7 (51 points) through 48 games played. That's good enough for a 14th place tie in the Eastern Conference standings.

Suffice to say, for a team that made the playoffs last season and was hoping to take the next step, this has been a very disappointing season for the Senators so far. The expectation for them was a top-3 finish in the Atlantic Division. Right now, they are a full 10 points out of that race.

As a result, frustration is huge in Ottawa, to the point where their fans spread nasty rumors about their starting goaltender (Linus Ullmark) as he took a personal leave of absence from the team. Then, over the weekend, star defenseman Jake Sanderson publicly called out the goaltending they are getting in Ullmark's absence.

All of this is a round-about way for me to admit that I have no idea what the Blue Jackets should expect to face from this team tonight. The Senators are a very talented team, with plenty of size and potential throughout their lineup. Aside from Ullmark, they are fully healthy.

They are led in scoring by Tim Stutzle, who has 21 goals and 49 points in 48 games this season. not far behind is Drake Batherson (19-25-44), with Sanderson sitting third while leading the way from the back-end (10-29-39).

Those totals don't include captain Brady Tkachuk, who sits at nearly a point-per-game (10-17-27 in 28 games played) himself, but has missed time due to injury.

Where this team has struggled is in goal. The Senators don't give up much defensively, but without Ullmark, it's a mess. They went through three goalies, then searched far and wide for someone to help them bridge the gap without their starter, ultimately landing on James Reimer.

The 37 year-old Reimer is a veteran of 526 career NHL games, but his glory days are long past. He's gotten into one game with the Sens so far this season, giving up 4 goals on 34 shots in a 4-3 overtime loss on Sunday.

For his career, he's 7-9-3 against the Blue Jackets, posting a .898% save percentage 3.28 goals against average, and 1 shutout.

The Good Guys

What a difference a week can make. At this time last week, we were thinking about looking ahead to the 2026 NHL Draft. Now, a handful of wins later, the Jackets are right back in the race.

Rick Bowness wasted no time making his mark on this team, and only really got his first full practice with the group yesterday. I'm interested to see if their streak has been a result of the "new coach" boost, or if this team can carry their strong play moving forward.

Tonight, Elvis Merzlikins will get his third consecutive start in goal. It's well-earned. Since the coaching change, he's stopped 59 of 63 shots (and 3 of 4 in a shootout), and won both of his games.

The Jackets will be without defensemen Dante Fabbro, so Jake Christiansen will draw back into the lineup. If the lines in practice are to be trusted; there are some changes up front as well, with Bowness opting to use the lines that were in place at the end of their last game:

These teams have split the first two games of the season series, with the road team winning each one. Hopefully the Jackets can break that trend tonight, and clinch the series in their final matchup of the year.

Three Keys to Success

1. Get some early saves. The Jackets will likely need Elvis Merzlikins to be sharp early. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Senators come out angry, with the way their month has gone.

2. Shoot the puck. The game-plan tonight should be to fire about 100 shot attempts on the Ottawa net. It won't be easy: the Sens give up the third fewest shots by average in the NHL. But, if the Jackets can get some on target, it's likely they will find goals.

3. Stick to CBJ hockey. Since Bowness came aboard, we have seen more of that CBJ style that we wanted all season long. Fast, physical, confident hockey. That's what it's going to take to win these important games.

Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:00 Eastern Time tonight at Nationwide. Let's go Jackets.