(UPDATE: Ryan said he was ok 10 minutes after the hit, and is "a little sore" but should be good to go for Saturday while Wiercioch is doubtful and Cowen will take his spot. )
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It was a win on the scoreboard, but of more concern for the immediate future is for the health of Bobby Ryan.
Ryan has been the hottest Senators forward over the last couple of weeks, and he was helped off the ice late in the game after being checked into the boards by David Savard. Savard was given a major and a game misconduct with just over 4 minutes left that pretty much sealed the deal in the game and was probably too harsh a penalty for the action. He was originally given a minor for boarding but it was changed with the amount of time the player spent on the ice. More a case of the result rather than the action being the defining factor for a discipline which has to change.
Ryan will be re-evaluated today, and I don't possess a medical degree but it didn't look good and it could be a shoulder or a collarbone which could mean a rather lengthy absence. That would make an already tenuous top 6 almost paper thin.
Patrick Wiercioch also left the game earlier on after a face to face collision with Nick Foligno that Wiercioch got the worst of. There wasn't a real update given on him either so there will likely be more news today.
After a shaky start, the Senators took their lead from their captain, who was dominant in the last 50 minutes or so of the game, not just offensively with his 2 goals and an assist, but also in his own end playing very good defense.
After a pretty tight checking first period, the Senators scored twice in the second and then the Blue Jackets had to open up in the third which made for some end to end action as they combined for 20 shots, 13 from Columbus. Craig Anderson held firm, ending up with 25 saves for his first shutout of the season.
I know there is some debate as to whether or not a fight can really change the tide of a game, but I do know that it was a different game for the Senators following Curtis Lazar's late first period scrap (the first of his career) with Kevin Connauton and the energy given by a strong game from the fourth line in general, including 8 hits from Chris Neil, some of the bone-jarring variety. As a team the Senators have been too easy to play against at times, and Neil seemed to make it a personal mission to change that at least while he was on the ice and should get credit for that.
Kyle Turris' goal into an empty net was pivotal for a couple of reasons - it snapped a 6 game goal-less drought for the Senators leading goal-scorer and it continued a Senators streak of scoring at least one power play goal to 6 games.
Although it didn't end up making much of a difference, I think there is certainly a complaint to be had with regard to the goal that didn't happen as it was reversed due to goaltender interference. While Mark Borowiecki was indeed tied up with the Blue Jackets defenseman and he did make contact with Curtis McElhinney that contact essentially occurred outside of the paint and it could be argued that the puck was already going past the goalie before he had even moved to get across and the contact was made. In a game starved for offense that seemed like a pretty low threshold for goaltender interference since they would have to argue that Borowiecki had the intent to push the defender into the goalie. It is just fortunate for the Senators that the score wasn't closer and it didn't have an effect on the final outcome.
The Senators are now 2-0-2 as they head into the last game of their 5 game homestand and despite sometimes spotty play at times can come away with a pretty impressive 8 of 10 points with a win over the Flyers on Saturday night.