Columbus Blue Jackets' Artem Anisimov (42), of Russia, tries to get the puck from Ottawa Senators' Zack Smith (15) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Mike Munden)
January 28, 2014 - 7:00 PM
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Jason Spezza scored a power-play goal with 5 minutes left and Stephane Da Costa had two goals to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.
Craig Anderson had 34 saves for the Senators, who had lost two in a row and four of five.
Cam Atkinson and James Wisniewski had power-play goals for the Blue Jackets, who have lost three in a row after setting a franchise record with eight consecutive victories. Curtis McElhinney stopped 25 shots.
After Nathan Horton went off for tripping at 13:08, the Senators took advantage late in the power play.
Colin Greening's pass through the crease was deflected by Blue Jackets defenceman Fedor Tyutin, with Spezza closest to the loose puck. His first shot was blocked by Tyutin, but he took another whack at it and got it past McElhinney for the tiebreaker.
Anderson made several clutch saves in the waning moments after the Blue Jackets pulled their goalie for an extra attacker.
Down a goal headed into the third period, the Blue Jackets tied it with the man advantage.
Anderson turned away one hard shot by Wisniewski from the top of the right circle, but moments later he got another chance and this time he found the net. Matt Calvert helped set it up with a screen that completely blocked Anderson's vision. The goal was Wisniewski's fifth of the year and came at the 7:16 mark.
Up 1-0 after the opening period, the Senators made it 2-0 at the 6:24 mark of the second — and again it was Da Costa getting the goal.
Spezza corraled a loose puck along the back wall and waited for several seconds for Da Costa to crash the net. Once Da Costa got the inside track on a Blue Jacket defender, Spezza saucered a pass to the front where Da Costa jammed it in for his second of the night and second of the season in his eighth game with the Senators.
The Blue Jackets, frustrated all night by wayward shots and missed passes, finally broke through on the power play.
Calvert carried the puck around the back of the goal and fed it to the point, eventually getting it back at the right doorstep. He slipped a blind, between-his-legs and backward pass to Atkinson, who had an empty net for his 16th at the 12-minute mark.
Later in the period, Ottawa star defenceman stepped in front of Wisniewski's pass, teed it up and slammed a rocket of a slap shot that McElhinney gloved to keep it a one-goal game.
The Senators had the best of it for most of the first period as the Blue Jackets looked sluggish and tired.
They got the only goal of the first 20 minutes on the power play. Milan Michalek split two defenders in the high slot but lost the puck, with Da Costa trailing the play. He jabbed at the puck and got it through heavy traffic at the 8:06 mark.
Columbus had two successive power plays in the final minutes but was not able to convert despite several prime opportunities.
NOTES: Columbus LW Blake Comeau saw his first action after missing nine games with a sprained medial-collateral ligament in his left knee. ... Ottawa improved to 12-9-5 on the road this year, better than the 11-11-5 the Senators are at home. ... Senators D Chris Phillips did not play after suffering a minor injury during Saturday's 6-3 loss at Carolina. ... Each team had beaten the other 4-1 this season — on the other team's home ice.
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News from © The Associated Press, 2014