The Ottawa Senators extended their point streak to five games (3-0-2) with a 4-1 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday. James Reimer earned his first win as a Senator, Tim Stutzle scored a nasty goal, and Ridly Greig stayed hot in his new spot on the second line.

No time to waste. Let’s get to grading.

ForwardsTim Stutzle: A+

Stutzle was untouchable in the offensive zone, putting on a one-man show many shifts. He did a full loop of the O zone à la Marian Hossa, drove to the net with speed and beat Elvis Merzlikins with a cheeky five-hole finish for the 2-1 goal. Stutzle made great reads defensively, backchecked hard and deserved to add another point on Brady Tkachuk’s empty netter.

Ridly Greig: A-

What has gotten into him? Only one player in the NHL has more even strength points than Greig since coach Travis Green put him on the second line with Brady Tkachuk and Dylan Cozens last Wednesday. Greig has newfound poise and scoring touch. He performed a give-and-go with Cozens, and then finished a deke on the backhand five-hole on Jet Greaves.

Brady Tkachuk: B

That was one of the more physical games we’ve seen from Tkachuk since he returned from injury. He had three hits and was plus-2. His line was strong at even strength.

Fabian Zetterlund: B

His motor was going tonight. Zetterlund had good speed especially on dump-ins, and his puck retrieval was a big reason why the top line was able to hem Columbus in its own end.

Dylan Cozens: B+

Cozens’ assist on Greig’s goal was brilliant. The late man on a 3-on-2 rush, he enticed a defender into the middle of the ice and waited until Greig was all alone to send him the perfect pass. Cozens has six points (three goals, three assists) during a four-game point streak.

Drake Batherson: A-

Batherson and Stutzle’s chemistry was on full display in the first half of the game. Batherson won numerous puck battles on the wall and was always able to find Stutzle in a bit of open ice. The 27-year-old winger went pointless, but he was one of the main reasons the Senators were able to put a ton of pressure on Columbus until a plethora of penalties in the second changed the complexion of the game entirely.

Shane Pinto: B-

Pinto took a high-sticking penalty late in the second period when the Blue Jackets were pressing. He was 7-for-13 in the face-off dot.

Claude Giroux: B

He had the primary assist on Tyler Kleven’s 1-0 goal, won a couple key face-offs on the penalty kill and gave his team a solid 16:40 of ice time.

Michael Amadio: B-

Amadio had the secondary assist on the 1-0 goal. He took a slashing penalty in the second. He has one goal in his past 33 games.

David Perron: C

The fourth line of Perron, Nick Cousins and Lars Eller had its first off-night since being formed mid last week, and the rest of the team picked them up.

Nick Cousins: C

Each of Perron, Cousins and Eller was in the bottom three on the team with regards to 5-on-5 possession.

Lars Eller: C+

Eller had two shots and went 6-for-8 in face-offs.

DefencemenJake Sanderson: A-

The highlight of his night was a massive block on the penalty kill in the second period. He had a game-high four blocks. His 99 blocks this season are good enough for first on the Senators and 16th in the NHL.

Artem Zub: C+

He had a rough night with the puck, carting four giveaways. But in the end, he was plus-1, had three blocks and so-so possession numbers.

Thomas Chabot: B-

That’s about as underwhelming as a two-assist night gets. Chabot was fine. He lost his man while creeping in on a puck battle along the wall and that somewhat led to the Blue Jacket’s 1-1 goal.

Jordan Spence: B

Spence continues to build on his defensive game. Most notably against Columbus, he played a Kirill Marchenko solo rush beautifully, thwarting the speedy winger’s spin-o-rama in the neutral zone.

Tyler Kleven: A-

The 1-0 goal was his first goal of the season, but Kleven made it look like it was his 30th. He pivoted beautifully to the inside to get a better angle and use the Blue Jackets defender as a screen, and then ripped a curl-and-drag wrist shot blocker side on Elvis Merzlikins. Kleven took an iffy tripping call midway through the second, but both he and the referee made up for it when he drew an iffy tripping call of his own minutes later.

Nick Jensen: A-

One of Jensen’s best games of the new year. He was solid early; a strong stick check and easy breakout on the first shift set the tone for the rest of the game. He had poor gap control on Sean Monahan’s 1-1 goal in the slot, but he saved a goal on the penalty kill in the second period.

GoalieJames Reimer: A+

Typically, A-pluses are reserved for shutouts, but we’ll make an exception in this case because the Senators haven’t had a goaltending performance like that in a long time. Reimer made a handful of massive saves on multiple penalty kills in the second period when the game was still up for grabs. He was extremely strong on jam plays and held his ground on his goal line, something that has been missing with Leevi Merilainen and Linus Ullmark this season.

Now it’s time for your take; tell us in the comment section which Senators impressed you and who needs to improve their game.

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