Following an eight-game winning streak with a three-game slide is certainly not the way to keep momentum rolling, but the Blue Jackets now find themselves in a rut that only they can pull themselves out of.
Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators was, to say the very least, frustrating in that the Blue Jackets didn’t find their legs until late in the first period and made a handful of mistakes that put them behind the 8-ball. The Senators, who were in Columbus waiting for the Blue Jackets (who flew home late last night after a loss in Raleigh), were ready from the get-go and spent a lot of time in the offensive zone.
As a result, the Blue Jackets took some ill-timed penalties, allowing the Senators to open and close the scoring.
Stephane Da Costa got the opening goal 8:06 of the first period, smacking a backhander through a maze of bodies in front for an ugly-but-effective power play goal.
Da Costa then tallied his second of the game 6:24 into the second period, cashing in on a bang-bang pass across the crease from Jason Spezza to make it 2-0 Ottawa.
But thanks to the Senators taking some penalties of their own, the Blue Jackets clawed their way back.
Cam Atkinson scored his 16th of the season 12 minutes into the second to cut the lead in half, and at 7:16 of the third, James Wisniewski unleashed a rocket slap shot through a Matt Calvert screen to draw even at 2-2.
The Blue Jackets’ power play, 2-for-4 on the night, got another chance later in the third but couldn’t capitalize…and then it came unglued.
Nathan Horton was called for tripping Erik Karlsson with 6:52 to play, and in the dying seconds of the power play, Spezza pounced on a loose puck in net mouth and gave the Senators their second and final lead of the night.
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