OTTAWA, Ontario ― The inability to play with consistency continues to plague the Blue Jackets, including both special teams units.

It led to another hiccup Tuesday in a 6-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre, where the power play went 0-for-4 and penalty-kill allowed two goals. Despite dominating puck possession much of the game and taking a 1-0 lead at 7:11 of the first period on rookie center Dmitri Voronkov’s 13^th goal, the Blue Jackets had their wheels come loose on four unanswered goals by Brady Tkachuk, Claude Giroux and Ridly Greig.

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“They changed their style ... new coach,” Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent said of Senators coach Jacques Martin. “They’re 6-2-2 in their last 10 (games). That’s a team that is coming together."

Ottawa's also a team that's now four points ahead of the Blue Jackets (16-26-10) at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. Columbus isn't entirely backsliding yet, but the Jackets are spinning the tires in their youthful rebuild. Poor decisions with the puck and committing six stick infractions among their seven minor penalties was the latest proof.

Ottawa had just five active defensemen playing due to injury (Artem Zub) and a salary-cap crunch, which should've been a heavy advantage for Columbus. Somehow, it wasn't.

"The first seven, eight minutes, we were managing the puck and making their (defensemen) turn," Vincent said. "They had five 'D' tonight, and that was part of our plan to make them skate. So, we did it right and it was successful. Then we changed, and that’s learning to play on the road.”

Tkachuk, who notched his second NHL hat trick, scored the first two goals for the Senators just 48 seconds apart, capping a power play that tied it 1-1 and a 2-on-1 rush created off a turnover. Giroux scored shorthanded off another turnover to make it 3-1 after the first, and Greig made it 4-1 at 5:37 of the second.

Boone Jenner and Jack Roslovic cut the deficit to 4-3 with goals in the second, but the Senators reclaimed a two-goal lead before the third on Tkachuk’s third goal. Erik Brannstrom scored the game's final goal into an empty net to seal it.

“We played a good first five, six minutes, and then we kind of played into their hands after that, giving them the puck and making plays that ... we’ve just got to get (the puck) behind them,” Jenner said. “We did that (eventually), but we spotted them a couple goals there just on our mistakes and gave them momentum off it.”

Here are six takeaways:

Columbus Blue Jackets hope to catch a break with Ivan Provorov injury

Moments before Tkachuk netted his second power-play goal and third goal of the game, Blue Jackets defenseman Ivan Provorov was sent to the ice after blocking a shot.

He stayed down, crumpled in a heap, before trying to defend as Tkachuk scored to prompt a stoppage. Provorov finished the game, but Vincent said he had X-rays taken after the game. Depending on what those show, the Blue Jackets could be down a lineup regular on the blue line before starting a three-game trip in San Jose, Los Angeles and Anaheim.

Could that spell an NHL return for unhappy rookie David Jiricek, a right-handed shot, or would lefty Jake Christiansen get another look with the big club instead?

Both are soaking up ice time with the Cleveland Monsters, who are locked in a tight race for the AHL's North Division lead with the Syracuse Crunch. The Monsters could use all hands on deck, but their main purpose is to develop young talent and provide NHL-capable replacements for the Blue Jackets.

They won't practice again until Thursday, which means a Provorov update might not happen Wednesday. Stay tuned.

Columbus Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner leads them back from another disastrous stretch

Vincent is learning in his first season as Blue Jackets head coach what he'd already gleaned from spending the previous two years as Brad Larsen's associate coach.

It's really hard to take Jenner out of a game.

The Blue Jackets' captain logged a career-high 26:42 on 30 shifts against the Senators, including Vincent double-shifting him in the third while trailing by two goals. Aside from his goal, Jenner finished with a game-high nine shots to tie his career-high mark on a whopping 15 attempts, delivered five hits, blocked a shot and won 17 of 25 faceoffs (68%).

The ‘C’ is attached to the front of his jersey for much more than just veteran leadership.

It’s also there because he’s become one of the Blue Jackets’ most valuable two-way forwards, showing a particular knack for keeping them in games. Jenner helped the Jackets claw within a goal after they’d fallen behind 4-1 by scoring a goal and then screening goalie Anton Forsberg on Roslovic's tally that made it 4-3 in the second.

"I shortened the bench in the third period because Boone's line was going, Jack Roslovic was going and (Gaudreau) got better as the game went on," Vincent said. "But Boone has nine shots on net, scored a goal, faceoff percentage is over 60% ... I thought he played an outstanding game."

Daniil Tarasov's NHL growing pains continue while Elvis Merzlikins fights another illness

Tarasov got the start over Merzlikins, which was planned ahead of time.

That’s notable because Merzlikins, who was Tarasov’s backup option, didn’t watch from the bench. After not participating in the Jackets’ optional morning skate, Merzlikins took pregame warmup with Tarasov and watched the remainder of the game from the locker room.

Another illness, at least his third of the season, was the reason Merzlikins didn't sit on the bench.

"He was (available)," Vincent said. "He was sick, but if we needed him he would've played. We just didn't want to take any chances with him around the team."

It was such an odd sight to see the Jackets devoid of a backup on the bench at Canadian Tire Centre ― which has plenty of room for one — that Ottawa-based reporters wondered aloud in the press box where Merzlikins was during the game.

As for Tarasov, it was another tough night for a young backstop.

He allowed five goals on 29 shots, including three against 10 shots in the first period — after Voronkov's goal gave the Jackets a 1-0 lead. Tarasov is 3-7-2 in 11 appearances with an inflated 3.91 goals-against average and frigid .877 save percentage.

He made a few dazzling stops, but continues to work on his consistency. That's tough as a backup, which doesn't provide consistent ice time. This was his first start since Jan. 28 in Seattle, a span of more than two weeks due to the Jackets' 10-day mid-season break.

The Blue Jackets are also in a pickle with Tarasov, who could possibly stand a return to the AHL to work on his game. Instead, the 6-foot-5 netminder is being asked to grow at the NHL level because he requires the league's waivers process for an assignment to Cleveland. Tarasov, despite his struggles, would likely be scooped up by a team willing to keep him as a third option on the NHL roster.

The Blue Jackets were in that spot with Merzlikins, Tarasov and Spencer Martin, but the latter was eventually claimed off waivers by the Carolina Hurricanes.

Columbus Blue Jackets have another rough night killing penalties

The Blue Jackets went just 3-for-5 killing penalties against the Senators, allowing two more goals to extenda horrid stretch of penalty-killing struggles that began with Jenner’s fractured jaw in December.

Jenner’s fully back from that injury now, but the Jackets’ penalty-killing is still scuffling.

They’ve allowed at least one power-play goal in four of the past five games, are well under 70% since mid-December and have dropped from a top-five team in the NHL during the season's first two months to 26^th in the league.

It’s a major issue that’s costing them too many goals and not providing enough momentum.

"We're trying to find ways to get it back to where it was," Jenner said. "We're working on it, talking about it all the time. We just have to clean some things up here and there, little detail stuff, the way you play it, and try to find that groove again that we had earlier. We need our 'kill. They're getting too many power-play goals on us. We need to be a lot better."

Columbus Blue Jackets center Dmitri Voronkov continues ascent up NHL’s rookie scoring list

Voronkov’s goal was his 13^th of the season and moved him past fellow Blue Jackets rookie Adam Fantilli in the NHL’s rooking rankings. He also moved into sole possession of third in the league’s list of rookie goal-scorers and is tied for fifth in scoring with 26 points.

The towering Russian center continues to impress during his first NHL season despite an ongoing effort to communicate with coaches and teammates while speaking little English.

Voronkov finished with an impressive night on the scoresheet against the Senators. He put four shots on goal among five attempts, was credited with two hits and won 6 of 11 draws (55%) while anchoring the second line.

Johnny Gaudreau supporting Columbus Blue Jackets teammate Patrik Laine with charitable pledge

Gaudreau is a skilled playmaker, so it comes as no surprise that he’s now using those skills to assist a teammate who’s not currently with the team.

Gaudreau has committed to donating $1,000 per point for the remainder of the season (goals and assists) toward men’s mental health awareness and support in the Columbus area, starting with an assist against the Senators on Jenner’s goal. It’s a pledge that teammate Patrik Laine first announced Oct. 19 with his “Laine Gives Back” program through the Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation.

Laine, who entered the NHL/NHL Players’ Association’s Player Assistance Program in late January, raised the first $10,000 in the same manner for the OhioHealth Foundation’s mental health efforts. Laine has also been assisted by Blue Jackets fans since Monday, after he was recently the subject of a fan podcaster’s crude comments pertaining to suicide.

According to a Blue Jackets spokesperson, fans have already contributed more than 200 donations totaling more than $10,000 toward Laine’s charitable program. The podcast wasn’t the impetus for Gaudreau’s idea though.

He decided during the Jackets’ recent break to pick up where Laine left off with the $1,000 a point committment.

“I decided to do this over break, and then ... kind of an idiot comes out and says some terrible things like that, it’s just nonsense, you know?” Gaudreau said. “It’s tough to see that, especially when someone’s going through something so tough. But we have Patty’s back if he ever needs anything. We’re always here for him. We’re a tight group in here. We miss Patty, and if he ever needs anything, we’re a short call away, short text away ... and we hope to see him again real soon.”

bhedger@dispatch.com

@BrianHedger

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets stumble against Ottawa Senators: 6 takeaways