(SportsNetwork.com) – A pair of teams trying to avoid their third straight
loss will meet Tuesday in Columbus, as the Blue Jackets host the Ottawa
Senators at Nationwide Arena.
Columbus is just 2-4-0 since beginning 2014-15 with two straight wins and the
club dropped games this past weekend in Anaheim and Los Angeles to go 1-3-0 on
a four-game road trip. The Blue Jackets hope a brief two-game homestand
against Ottawa and Toronto can help them get back on track.
The Senators, meanwhile, have lost both of their games since last Wednesday’s
scheduled home meeting against Toronto was postponed until Nov. 9. The game
was scrapped after a Canadian soldier was shot and killed Wednesday morning in
downtown Ottawa while standing guard at the National War Memorial.
Ottawa carried a four-game winning streak into Saturday’s home test against
New Jersey, but dropped a 3-2 overtime decision before losing 2-1 at Chicago
on Sunday.
The Senators fired 33 shots on net against the Blackhawks, but Scott Darling
stopped all but one of them to earn the victory in an impressive NHL debut.
Milan Michalek tallied Ottawa’s lone marker and Craig Anderson stopped 43-
of-45 shots for the Senators.
“I thought our goaltender played well,” said Senators head coach Paul MacLean.
“We lost, so we’re disappointed, but at the same time we should be able to
take some positives out of it.”
Ottawa is 2-2-0 as the visiting team this season. The Sens will host a rematch
against Chicago on Thursday after capping its two-game road trip tonight.
The Senators are 1-0 against the Blue Jackets this season, posting a 3-2
regulation victory when Columbus visited Ottawa on Oct. 18. Ottawa has claimed
two straight and four of the last five meetings overall and has won its last
two tilts at Nationwide Arena.
Columbus lost the final two tilts on its recent road trip by a combined 9-3
margin, losing 4-1 to the Ducks on Friday before dropping a 5-2 decision
Sunday in Los Angeles.
The Blue Jackets led 1-0 after 20 minutes against the Kings, but L.A. scored
the next three goals to take the lead for good. Tim Erixon and Mark Letestu
scored the goals for Columbus, while Sergei Bobrovsky was touched for five
goals on 27 shots.
Bobrovsky was placed on injured reserve after fracturing a finger during
practice on Monday. The club’s No. 1 netminder is expected to miss 1-to-2
weeks with the injury.
Curtis McElhinney will get the start in net tonight and Anton Forsberg was
recalled from Springfield of the American Hockey League to serve as the
backup.
Sunday’s game also featured a scary incident when Columbus forward Nick
Foligno was taken off the ice on a stretcher, but the injury was later
diagnosed as a stinger and Foligno could play in tonight’s game.
Foligno was hurt in the third period while battling Los Angeles’ Jeff Carter
for a puck along the boards, Foligno’s head appeared to hit Shane Heyer’s hip
as the linesman tried to avoid the play by leaping onto the dasher. Foligno
underwent a precautionary x-ray in Los Angeles and had an MRI exam on Monday
in Columbus. All results were negative.
The 26-year-old Foligno is questionable for Tuesday, but he did not partake in
the morning skate. He has three goals and six assists in eight games this
season.
Columbus forward Matt Calvert was placed on injured reserve Monday after
sustaining an upper-body injury in Friday’s loss to the Ducks. Calvert, who
expects to miss a week, has one goal and an assist through seven games this
season. The Blue Jackets recalled rookie forward Alexander Wennberg from
Springfield of the American Hockey League to fill the roster spot.
