Tim Stutzle stayed hot with a goal and an assist, Anton Forsberg needed just 22 saves to record his second career shutout and the Ottawa Senators beat the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets 4-0 on Tuesday night.
Stutzle’s fifth goal in five games, as well as his third assist in a six-game point streak, came during a three-goal second period. Derick Brassard, Drake Batherson and Austin Watson also scored, and Claude Giroux added two assists for the Senators, who went 2-for-6 on the power play.
Ottawa is 5-0-1 in its past six home games and 12-5-2 overall since Nov. 25.
Forsberg, who played his first three NHL seasons with Columbus, made back-to-back starts for the first time since Nov. 16 and 19. He was solid when needed, stopping a two-on-one Blue Jackets short-handed rush early in the third period. His only other shutout came during a 4-0 home victory for the Senators over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Dec. 11, 2021.
Joonas Korpisalo made 30 saves for Columbus but was battered while facing 15 shots in the second period alone. After snapping a seven-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday, the Blue Jackets were blanked for the third time this season while dropping their eighth straight on the road.
The Blue Jackets are an NHL-worst 2-12-1 away from home.
Following a physical but scoreless first period in which Ottawa held a 10-9 shots-on-goal advantage, the home side broke through with a power-play goal just 2:59 into the second. Jake Sanderson threw the puck toward the net from the point, and ex-Blue Jacket Brassard got his stick up enough to deflect it over Korpisalo’s glove.
The Senators made it 2-0 just over four minutes later. Off a Columbus-zone faceoff, Stutzle corralled the puck in the circle and ripped it by Korpisalo. Stutzle then set up Batherson for a power-play drive that rang the post and in at 11:31 of the second period.
Watson capped the scoring with a short-handed, empty-net goal at 16:41 of the third period.
–Field Level Media