OTTAWA — Ottawa Senators captain Erik Karlsson found yet another way to write himself into the club’s record books Saturday night.
If he keeps playing like he is now, there’s no guessing just how many club records he will own before he’s done.
Karlsson, playing in a team-best 312th consecutive game, scored the go-ahead goal midway through the second period — on a support set up from Mark Stone — en route to the Senators 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
“We’ve been doing a good job of hooking up this year, so he just saw me early and I tried to find the lane and he made a great pass,” Karlsson said. “I kept it on the ice and that usually works for me. I found a way to thread it through and, obviously, it came at a good time.”
The Senators have now won three of their past four, cementing their hold on second spot in the Atlantic Division.
The Senators also received a goal from Viktor Stalberg, who was acquired from Carolina on Tuesday for a third-round draft pick. With the Blue Jackets pushing late and with goaltender Joonas Korpisalo on the bench for an extra skater, Zack Smith scored into the empty net
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As it turns out, it was a necessary marker as Sam Gagner scored on the power play to make for a dicey finish.
Senators goaltender Craig Anderson made 25 saves, improving to 6-2-0 since returning from his leave of absence.
Anderson recovered impressively after allowing Brandon Saad to score on the first shot he faced, only 2:17 in.
Joonas Korpisalo, receiving a rare start in place of Vezina Trophy candidate Sergei Bobrovsky, faced 27 Senators shots.
Karlsson was here, there and everywhere.
His goal, following a fantastic set up by Mark Stone, put the Senators up for good.
Stone danced along the Blue Jackets blue line before charging deep into the zone. Stone then fed Karlsson, who had sprinted into the slot from the centre ice red line after Stone burst across the blue line, and beat Korpisalo low.
“He has been playing on one leg and he had the neck injury and he came back and it was hurting him,” Senators coach Guy Boucher said. “It has got better, but he had a leg injury also and (Saturday), he had a bit more. You can see what a bit more is for him. Stone and Karlsson put on a clinic out there.”
It was a big win against an impressive opponent. The Blue Jackets have re-asserted themselves as a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference in the past two weeks.
While the Blue Jackets reeled off a franchise record 16-game win streak from Nov. 29-Jan.3, they had been a sub-.500 club during the next six weeks, raising some doubts.
Yet they’ve bounced back again, entering Canadian Tire Centre on a 5-1-1 run, including a 1-0 win over Minnesota on Thursday.
Saturday morning, Boucher said the Blue Jackets were the NHL’s hardest-working team, with more than enough depth to push from start to finish.
It was a loud message to his own team to not let down following the emotional high of Thursday’s post-trade deadline 2-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche.
The Blue Jackets had the early jump, though.
Only 2:17 in, Saad caught Dion Phaneuf napping in the neutral zone. Saad slipped behind Phaneuf, took a pass from Zack Werenski and ripped the Blue Jackets first shot of the game past Anderson, low to the stick side.
Stalberg tied the game 1-1 with 6:35 left in the first period, finding the loose puck after Korpisalo couldn’t control Chris Kelly’s high shot.
After Alex Burrows scored both Senators goals Tuesday, it marked the third consecutive goal from Senators’ trade deadline pick-ups.
It was also a fourth-line goal, a welcome sign for a Senators squad that has spent much of the year searching for offence from its bottom unit.
“Scoring always helps your confidence and all that sort of stuff, but I don’t think I’m here to be the (big) goal scorer, but certainly that helps,” Stalberg said. “I think (Kelly and Tommy Wingels) and I have done a good job here these two games, keeping the puck in their end, making it hard for (the opposition) and getting some momentum back for the team.”
kwarren@postmedia.com
