Anton Forsberg saves Ottawa Senators in shootout win over Blue Jackets

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It was an unlikely way for the Ottawa Senators to win a hockey game.

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But, they did.

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Trailing 1-0 going into the final period, then falling behind 2-0 early in the third, the Senators rallied for a couple of goals to tie it. Then they put it away in the shootout, winning 3-2.

Claude Giroux, the final player up in the shootout, slapped home the winner.

The unlikely part of it all? The Senators were outshot 20-8 in the third period.

Give a lot of credit to Ottawa goalie Anton Forsberg.

“The situation, being down 1-0, it felt like we’d had a lot of time in their zone,” Forsberg told TSN 1200’s Gord Wilson. “It’s tough being down. But that’s part of believing in the group. They made it 2-0 and we kept coming back. It shows really good character.”

“(Forsberg) played well,” said Senators coach Jacques Martin. “He’d been out of action for quite a while. He got stronger as the game went along.”

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Fifteen seconds into the game, Boone Jenner gave the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead.

“Our first shift, we weren’t ready to play,” said Giroux. “When you’re trailing early like that, sometimes it can deflate you. But we kept playing hard, kept playing our game and waited for our chances.”

The Jackets held that 1-0 lead through the first period.

The Senators had a terrific chance with a bit less than three minutes left in the second period. Columbus goalie Elvis Merzlikins, with a big pad save, kept Ottawa’s Mark Kastelic off the scoreboard. The rebound sat there for a bit, but the Senators couldn’t knock it into the net.

The Senators came close again in the final seconds, but a shot rang off the crossbar.

With Brady Tkachuk in the penalty box for hooking, the Blue Jackets took a 2-0 lead 5:21 into the third period when Alex Nylander knocked in his own rebound.

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The Senators cut the deficit to one when Giroux broke a 13-game goal-less slump, deflecting in a shot by Boris Katchouk 7:25 into the third. To that point, Ottawa had been outshot 15-0 in the period.

Tim Stutzle tied it as he wristed a shot into the net from the right of Merzlikins with 7:35 left.

The Senators spent the final two minutes of overtime on the power play, with Merzlikins making a couple of huge stops as the Senators poured on the pressure 4-on-3.

“Their goalie was great tonight, but ours was better,” said Stutzle. “He was great. He was calm, he was confident. When you get that kind of goaltending, it gives you a chance to win every night.”

“We had some highs and lows,” said Martin. “We started a little slow in the third period. When we got that first goal, it gave us some life.”

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ICE CHIPS

Giroux said the ice conditions led him to try the shootout slapshot. “I was on the bench and I knew if I was going to go, I was going to do that,” said Giroux. “Back in the day when shootouts started, we had the Zamboni and it was easier to deke. Now, after the third period and overtime, the ice is pretty choppy so it’s tough to deke.” … Really nice shift by Ottawa’s fourth line with about a minute of pressure deep in the Columbus end midway through the second period … Kastelic smashed his stick in frustration after his second-period close call … Forsberg made a nice save off a spin-o-rama opportunity by Columbus’ Carson Meyer early in the third period … Soon after the Blue Jackets had scored their second goal, Forsberg made a spectacular save, flying across the cross to rob Alexandre Texier … The final shot count was 37-37.

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THE PERIOD AFTER

Going into Thursday’s game, Columbus was the NHL’s fourth-worst team, ahead of San Jose, Chicago and Anaheim and two points behind Ottawa … Remember when Johnny Gaudreau had 115 points with the Calgary Flames back in the 2020-21 season? He left the Flames to take a seven-year $68-million contract to join the Jackets. How has that worked out? Not so good. With two assists Thursday, he has 47 points in 66 games … The Senators had split their two games against Columbus going into Thursday (a 4-2 road loss Dec. 1 and 6-3 home victory (with Brady Tkachuk scoring three times) Feb. 13 … Up next for Ottawa is a Saturday afternoon (12:30 p.m.) road game vs. the New York Islanders.

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