Looking to hang on to their slim lead on the Metropolitan Division and extend their five game winning streak to six, the Blue Jackets welcomed the Ottawa Senators in for a Black Friday throwdown.

First Period

Despite the Jackets dominating the early possession and hammering Craig Anderson with shots, it would be Ottawa who scored first, with Tom Pyatt finishing a perfect 2 on 1 to beat Sergei Bobrovsky on the Senators’ second shot of the game.

The Jackets answered quickly, though, with Cam Atkinson forcing a neutral zone turnover and charging down the ice on a breakaway, beating Anderson low to tie the game once agan.

Second Period

The Jackets continued to outshoot the Sens to a ridiculous degree, but couldn’t capitalize on their power play opportunities. The momentum still carried, though, when Markus Nutivaara took advantage of traffic in front of the net to bomb a shot from the point, beating Anderson to give Columbus their first lead of the night.

Guy Boucher argued for goalie interference, but the challenge just confirmed the call on the ice, and the Jackets lead 2-1.

Unfortunately that meant it was Ottawa’s turn to respond, and it would be Mike Hoffman forcing Artemi Panarin to turn the puck over, moving in, and backing up Bob until he opened a target, tying things back up at 2-2 through the end of the period.

Third Period

Neither team got a lot going early in the period, though Josh Anderson and Oliver Bjorkstrand both had good looks they could not capitalize on.

The team flirted with disaster for much of the period, barely managing to kill a Senators power play thanks to Bob and a bit of puck luck before counterpunching again and Cam Atkinson getting the opportunity he needed thanks to a Matt Duchene turnover and putting the Jackets back on top with nine minutes to play.

Oh, and just to put a little insurance in? The Captain decided to get in on the fun, working an odd man rush with Atkinson and snapping home his fourth of the season to extend the lead to 4-2.

The score would hold to the final minute when the Senators pulled Craig Anderson, and Tyler Motte was rewarded for his hard work by being on the ice in that final minute – and thanks to a generous pass from Oliver Bjorkstrand – had the opportunity to drive the nail into the coffin with a shot into the empty net.

Final Score: Jackets 5 – Senators 2