Ottawa @ Columbus preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 14, 2019 ) Columbus 3, Ottawa 4

The injury-ravaged Columbus Blue Jackets are in a virtual tie for the final playoff position in the Eastern Conference despite eight straight losses and aim to snap the streak when the Ottawa Senators visit Monday night. The Blue Jackets have picked up five points during their run of losses, including a 4-3 shootout setback Saturday in Nashville, and are tied with Carolina for the final wild card spot.

Columbus coach John Tortorella said he didn’t look at the Nashville game as a loss and told reporters: “I’m not worried about our strength or our effort. Win or lose, I just trust the team that way. They know what’s going on. They’ve handled the situation very well. Have we gotten the total result in the past couple weeks? No. But we still scratch away. Get a point here, a point there.” The Blue Jackets, who have gained at least a point in six straight games against Ottawa (5-0-1), have 10 players sitting on the injured list including leading goal scorer Oliver Bjorkstrand and All-Star defenseman Seth Jones. The Senators, who have the third-fewest points in the league, will finally be certain who is available the rest of the season when the puck drops Monday - a few hours after the trade deadline, as several players could be dealt. “It’ll be good Monday to just get down to our team,” Ottawa coach D.J. Smith told reporters after a 3-0 loss to Montreal on Saturday made the Senators 3-3-0 in the last six. “Even for the guys, (to) know that you’re staying or know that you’re going.”

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: FS Ohio, RDS, TSN5

ABOUT THE SENATORS (21-30-11): Center Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who is an unrestricted free agent after the season, has six of a team-leading 40 points in his last four games and is one of the most popular targets for playoff teams Monday. Pageau owns a career-high 24 goals to top the team and speedy forward Anthony Duclair, a soon-to-be restricted free agent, is next with a career-best 22 tallies but has managed one in his last 24 games. Top defenseman Thomas Chabot (five goals, 33 points) left Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury, although Smith told reporters: “We think (Chabot) is all right. It’s nothing major anyway.”

ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (30-19-14): Boone Jenner registered his 11th goal while fellow forwards Eric Robinson and Emil Bemstrom each recorded his sixth in Saturday’s loss as the two top scorers continue to cool off. Center Pierre-Luc Dubois owns two (both assists) of his team-leading 44 points in the last 10 contests and wing Gustav Nyquist has not scored a goal in the same span, collecting three assists to push his total to 37 points. Goalie Elvis Merzlikins is 0-3-4 with a .892 save percentage in his last seven games that followed consecutive shutouts while Joonas Korpisalo (17-10-4), out since Dec. 29 due to a knee injury, was recalled from his conditioning assignment and could play as early as Monday.

OVERTIME

1. Ottawa Fs Tyler Ennis and Vladislav Namestnikov were held out of Saturday’s game with the possibility of a trade.

2. Columbus D Markus Nutivaara has recorded one goal and four assists in his past six contests.

3. Duclair had a hat trick in the last meeting as the Senators earned a 4-3 overtime verdict Dec. 14.

PREDICTION: Blue Jackets 3, Senators 1