Matt Duchene #95 of the Ottawa Senators and Pierre-Luc Dubois #18 of the Columbus Blue Jackets battle for control of the puck during the third period on March 17, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus defeated Ottawa 2-1.Kirk Irwin
Markus Nutivaara scored a power-play goal in the second period, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 22 shots, and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Ottawa Senators 2-1 on Saturday night.
Boone Jenner also scored — his third tally in three games — for the Blue Jackets, who have won a season-high seven straight and are holding on to the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with 83 points, tied with Philadelphia and one point ahead of New Jersey.
Alexandre Burrows scored his fifth of the year and Mike Condon stopped 33 shots for Ottawa, which saw a three-game winning streak snapped on the second night of a back-to-back.
Burrows gave the Senators a 1-0 lead when he knocked a bouncing puck past Bobrovsky from the doorstep 12 minutes into the first period. Jenner tied it up later in the first when he caught up with a fluttering pass from Thomas Vanek in the slot and lifted it over Condon's shoulder.
Ottawa's Max McCormick went to the penalty box late in the second period for plowing over Bobrovsky, a hit that required a trainer's visit to make sure the goalie was OK. With 22 seconds left in the Blue Jackets' power play, Nutivaara — playing on special teams in place of an injured Seth Jones — connected on a slap shot from the point.
Nutivaara and Ryan Murray blocked shots in the final minute to preserve the lead after Ottawa pulled the goalie.