Game Preview #5: One Hour of Effort
The first sustained road trip of the season begins tonight in Ottawa. It's time to build on the early success with a sixty minute performance.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Ottawa Senators
The Blue Jackets and Ottawa Senators share a number of common traits coming into this early season matchup. They boast identical 3-1 records, sit 2nd in their respective divisions, and are likely considered as somewhat of a surprise in the early going. Columbus is not know for its fast starts, and the loss of Boone Jenner and Brandon Dubinsky for the early part of the season was not a good omen. Ottawa is still stinging from the loss of Jason Spezza in the off-season, and is without former Blue Jacket Marc Methot, who is rehabbing a nagging back ailment.
Both clubs also have proven to be tenacious in the early going. Columbus dominated the games against Buffalo and the Rangers, made a strong comeback bid against Dallas, and came out of the gates strong against Calgary, storming to a 3 - 0 lead after two periods, and holding on for the 3 - 2 victory. Ottawa played three one-goal games in victories over Tampa Bay and Florida, and a loss to Nashville, before overcoming an early three goal deficit against Colorado.
Clarke MacArthur has carried much of the early offensive mail for the Senators, who have also gotten some stellar play in goal from Robin Lehner and Craig Anderson. With Bobby Ryan and Kyle Turris lurking, the Sens are a potentially dangerous offensive team, as their third period rally against the Avalanche demonstrated.
The Blue Jackets have seemed dominating at times, but have also taken periods off. They were emotionally flat in the first period against the Stars, and allowed Calgary back into the game in the third. With Curtis McElhinney slated to make his season debut in net, a sixty minute effort is essential. Speed and an aggressive forecheck can force Ottawa into taking penalties, enabling Columbus to potentially take advantage of the Senators' spotty penalty killing unit.
Projected Lineups
(3-1-0, 6 Points; 2nd division, 3rd conference)
| Nick Foligno | Ryan Johansen | Cam Atkinson |
| Scott Hartnell | Artem Anisimov | Alexander Wennberg |
| Matt Calvert | Mark Letestu | Jack Skille |
| Corey Tropp | Michael Chaput | Jared Boll |
| Jack Johnson | David Savard |
| Tim Erixon | James Wisniewski |
| Fedor Tyutin | Dalton Prout |
| Curtis McElhinney |
| Sergei Bobrovsky |
| Clarke MacArthur | Kyle Turris | Mark Stone |
| Bobby Ryan | Mika Zibanejad | Alex Chiasson |
| Mike Hoffman | David Legwand | Chris Neil |
| Milan Michalek | Zack Smith | Curtis Lazar |
| Chris Phillips | Erik Karlsson |
| Patrick Wiercioch | Cody Ceci |
| Eric Gryba | Mark Borowiecki |
| Robin Lehner |
| Craig Anderson |
Season Series
10/18/14 - Columbus at Ottawa10/28/14 - Ottawa at Columbus2/7/15 - Columbus at Ottawa
Head to Head Stats
| Ottawa | Columbus | |
| 2.50 (17) | GPG | 3.25 (9) |
| 2.00 (9) | GAPG | 2.25 (13) |
| 15.0% (18) | PP% | 17.6% (15) |
| 78.6% (20) | PK% | 100.0% (1) |
| Clarke MacArther, 2 | G leader | Cam Atkinson / Ryan Johansen, 3 |
| Kyle Turris, 3 | A leader | Nick Foligno, 4 |
| Kyle Turris, 4 | Pts leader | Ryan Johansen, 6 |
| Eric Gryba, 10 | PIM leader | Jack Skille, 7 |
| 1-0-0 | Road/Home | 1-0-0 |
| 3-1-0 | Last 10 | 3-1-0 |
| 10/16 vs. Colorado, W 5-3 | Last Game | 10/17 vs. Calgary, W 3 -2 |