The Ottawa Senators delivered a composed, structured performance Tuesday night, shutting down the Columbus Blue Jackets 4–1 at Nationwide Arena and snapping Columbus’ four-game winning streak. The loss marked Rick Bowness’ first behind the Blue Jackets bench.
Game Summary
Ottawa wasted little time setting the tone. Defenseman Tyler Kleven opened the scoring at 3:34 of the first period, wiring his first goal of the season from the left dot and beating the goaltender far side to give the Senators an early 1–0 lead.
Columbus briefly answered midway through the frame when Sean Monahan finished a low right-circle chance off a Boone Jenner feed to tie the game 1–1. The response didn’t last long.
Tim Stützle restored Ottawa’s lead at 10:15, skating up from below the goal line into the left circle and slipping a shot five-hole to make it 2–1 after one. The Stützle line continued to drive Ottawa’s offense all night.
Stützle and Ridly Greig each recorded a goal and an assist, combining for the Senators’ most important moments. Greig extended the lead to 3–1 at 6:49 of the third period, jumping on an Ivan Provorov turnover at the offensive blue line and converting on an odd-man rush. Notably, it was Ottawa’s first shot on goal of the period — and a decisive one.
Between the pipes, James Reimer was calm and efficient. Making just his second start of the season after signing a one-year contract on Jan. 12, Reimer stopped 21 shots and credited the defensive commitment in front of him, calling it a complete team effort.
Brady Tkachuk sealed the result with an empty-net goal at 16:54, finishing a setup from Stützle to lock in the 4–1 final.
With the win, Ottawa improved to 23-19-7 and extended its point streak to five games (3-0-2), rebounding strongly after consecutive overtime losses. Head coach Travis Green highlighted his team’s puck control and ability to manage the game across all three periods.
Columbus fell to 22-20-7 and suffered its first loss since Bowness took over on Jan. 12. The Blue Jackets struggled out of the gate, a slow start that proved costly. Elvis Merzlikins allowed two goals on seven shots before exiting due to illness, while Jet Greaves stopped 12 of 13 in relief. Despite generating chances in the second period, Columbus couldn’t find a way back, leaving Bowness pointing to the opening minutes as the difference.
Inside the Locker Room
Columbus acknowledged its slow start proved costly despite stretches of solid play.
“At the start we were watching too much,” Sean Monahan said. “We had a decent second, but not enough gas, enough juice from our group.”
Head coach Rick Bowness echoed that sentiment, pointing to the opening minutes as the turning point.
“If you look at the whole 60 minutes, it’s probably an evenly played game,” Bowness said. “Our slow start really hurt us. That’s been addressed already, and we’ll continue to address that because I hate slow starts. I hate it.
“Again, I think it was an evenly played game for the most part. The start killed us, and more importantly, in the second period, we could have taken the lead but we didn’t score.”
Notes
- Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski saw his personal 16-game home point streak come to an end (12 goals, 18 assists).
- Columbus forward Charlie Coyle appeared in his 999th NHL game and is expected to reach the 1,000-game milestone Thursday against the Dallas Stars.
Up Next
The Blue Jackets return home Thursday, Jan. 22, when they host the Dallas Stars at 7:00 p.m. EDT at Nationwide Arena.
