The Ottawa Senators are about to get extremely well acquainted with the 2024-25 Columbus Blue Jackets [http://thn.com/columbus]. The Senators have just 11 games left in their regular season, and three of them – more than a quarter – will be against the Blue Jackets, starting Saturday night at Canadian Tire Centre (7 pm). Mar 14, 2024: Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins (90) makes an overtime stick save against the Ottawa Senators (Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images). [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/6b6aa6e4-e381-4919-942a-0bc0270b9e3f.jpeg] Mar 14, 2024: Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins (90) makes an overtime stick save against the Ottawa Senators (Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images). That means six points are up for grabs and that's exactly Ottawa's lead on Columbus right now. A Sens win on Saturday would make it eight and almost impossible for the Jackets to catch them. A loss would drop the lead to four, which suddenly isn't all that imposing. So, that's the last thing the Sens want to see. That, and donkey hats. After each victory, the Blue Jackets decided this season to honour their player of the game [https://sports.yahoo.com/columbus-blue-jackets-swap-post-155912154.html] with a donkey hat in honour of the late Johnny Gaudreau, who would jokingly call his teammates "donkeys' when the friendly chirps broke out. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sens headlines: One On One: GM Steve Staios' Additions Help To Reset The Ottawa Senators [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/season-seat-member-qa-sance-de-questions-et-rponses-pour-les-membres-abonns] https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/season-seat-member-qa-sance-de-questions-et-rponses-pour-les-membres-abonnsUND Fires Brad Berry, Unofficial Member of Ottawa's Player Development Team [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/north-dakota-fires-brad-berry-unofficial-member-of-ottawas-player-development-team] https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/north-dakota-fires-brad-berry-unofficial-member-of-ottawas-player-development-team Former Ottawa Senator Jakob Chychrun Gets Massive Deal In Washington [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/former-ottawa-senator-jakob-chychrun-gets-massive-deal-in-washington] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Columbus enters play on Saturday as the WC2 holder, tied with the Montreal Canadiens [https://puckpedia.com/team/montreal-canadiens] and the New York Rangers [https://puckpedia.com/team/new-york-rangers], but they've played two fewer games than the Rangers and one less than the Habs. The New York Islanders lost 5-3 to Tampa Bay on Saturday to stay a point back. The Senators will have the advantage of rest for this one. While they beat the Detroit Red Wings [https://puckpedia.com/team/detroit-red-wings] 4-3 two nights ago, the Blue Jackets scored a wild, emotional 7-6 shootout victory over the Vancouver Canucks at home on Friday. Columbus had trailed in the game, 3-0, so it's hard to predict if they'll be gassed on Saturday or on top of the world. Jackets head coach Dean Evason isn't buying into the fatigue factor. “It’s just hockey,” Evason told the Columbus media after Friday's game. “That’s all it is. We’re not skating (Saturday), so you can sleep in and get a nice meal in a wonderful hotel. You fly a charter and have a nap, you wake up, puck drops, and you play hockey. It’s not that hard.” Ottawa Senators [https://puckpedia.com/team/ottawa-senators] winger Drake Batherson [https://puckpedia.com/player/drake-batherson], who has nine points in his past eight games, says the Sens' locker room is buzzing about the opportunity that lies before them. "Yeah, it's such a tight race and for those teams, it feels like they're almost losing every night we lose. So it's been kind of good for us," Batherson said. "It's going to be an interesting finish, I think, and we're excited for it. Obviously, we've got three games left against Columbus alone, so a lot of big points at stake here coming up." Drake Batherson says he's a huge fan of his veteran linemate, David Perron (Sens Nation Podcast).. At the brief game-day skate on Saturday morning, banged-up Senator defenceman Nick Jensen [https://puckpedia.com/player/nick-jensen] didn't participate. But this has been the norm for many weeks and probably won't change until next season. He is expected to play on Saturday as the Senators roll out the same line combinations they did in Motown. Linus Ullmark [https://puckpedia.com/player/linus-ullmark] will start in goal for the Sens against Daniil Tarasov [https://puckpedia.com/player/daniil-tarasov] for Columbus. The first 7000 fans to Canadian Tire Centre will receive a pair of Go Sens Go sunglasses. Apparently, the Sens' future is so bright they gotta wear shades. SENATORS PROJECTED LINEUP Forwards Claude Giroux [https://puckpedia.com/player/claude-giroux] – Tim Stutzle [https://puckpedia.com/player/tim-stuetzle] – Fabian Zetterlund [https://puckpedia.com/player/fabian-zetterlund] David Perron [https://puckpedia.com/player/david-perron] – Dylan Cozens [https://puckpedia.com/player/dylan-cozens] – Drake Batherson [https://puckpedia.com/player/drake-batherson]https://puckpedia.com/player/drake-batherson Brady Tkachuk [https://puckpedia.com/player/brady-tkachuk] – Shane Pinto [https://puckpedia.com/player/shane-pinto] – Ridly Greig [https://puckpedia.com/player/ridly-greig] https://puckpedia.com/player/ridly-greigMatthew Highmore [https://puckpedia.com/player/matthew-highmore] – Adam Gaudette [https://puckpedia.com/player/adam-gaudette] – Michael Amadio [https://puckpedia.com/player/michael-amadio] Defensemen Jake Sanderson [https://puckpedia.com/player/jake-sanderson] – Artem Zub Thomas Chabot [https://puckpedia.com/player/thomas-chabot] – Nick Jensen [https://puckpedia.com/player/nick-jensen] Tyler Kleven [https://puckpedia.com/player/tyler-kleven] – Nikolas Matinpalo [https://puckpedia.com/player/nikolas-matinpalo] Goalies Linus Ullmark [https://puckpedia.com/player/linus-ullmark] https://puckpedia.com/player/linus-ullmarkAnton Forsberg [https://puckpedia.com/player/anton-forsberg] Scratched Dennis Gilbert [https://puckpedia.com/player/dennis-gilbert], Travis Hamonic [https://puckpedia.com/player/travis-hamonic] Injured Nick Cousins [https://puckpedia.com/player/nick-cousins] (knee) BLUE JACKETS PROJECTED LINEUP Forwards Dmitri Voronkov [https://puckpedia.com/player/dimitri-voronkov] – Sean Monahan [https://puckpedia.com/player/sean-monahan] – Kirill Marchenko [https://puckpedia.com/player/kirill-marchenko] Boone Jenner [https://puckpedia.com/player/boone-jenner] – Adam Fantilli [https://puckpedia.com/player/adam-fantilli] – Kent Johnson [https://puckpedia.com/player/kent-johnson] Cole Sillinger [https://puckpedia.com/player/cole-sillinger] – Justin Danforth [https://puckpedia.com/player/justin-danforth] – Mathieu Olivier [https://puckpedia.com/player/mathieu-olivier] Zach Aston-Reese [https://puckpedia.com/player/zach-aston-reese] – Sean Kuraly [https://puckpedia.com/player/sean-kuraly] – Luke Kunin [https://puckpedia.com/player/luke-kunin] Defensemen Zach Werenski [https://puckpedia.com/player/zach-werenski] – Dante Fabbro [https://puckpedia.com/player/dante-fabbro] Ivan Provorov [https://puckpedia.com/player/ivan-provorov] – Damon Severson [https://puckpedia.com/player/damon-severson] Denton Mateychuk [https://puckpedia.com/player/denton-mateychuk] – Erik Gudbranson [https://puckpedia.com/player/erik-gudbranson] Goalies Daniil Tarasov [https://puckpedia.com/player/daniil-tarasov] Elvis Merzlikins [https://puckpedia.com/player/elvis-merzlikins]
