Rewind: Columbus Blue Jackets end skid with 6-2 win over Pittsburgh Penguins

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Rewind: Columbus Blue Jackets end skid with 6-2 win over Pittsburgh Penguins

Brian Hedger, Columbus Dispatch · The Columbus Dispatch

Sat, Nov 16, 2024 ·

14 min read

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The Blue Jackets turned a one-goal lead into another six-goal victory to end a six-game winless skid with a 6-2 thumping of Sidney Crosby , Evgeni Malkin and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night at Nationwide Arena.

Zach Aston-Reese , Zach Werenski and Mathieu Olivier scored the first three goals for the Blue Jackets , who got a 21-save win from Elvis Merzlikins in net.

"It was huge," Aston-Reese said. "Six losses in a row and we didn't really give 'em a sniff. A little bit on our heels in the second (period), but we managed it fine. That's going to happen. Decent damage control, so it was a really good 60-minute effort tonight."

Here's a blog roll with preview information, updates and analysis from the Dispatch:

FINAL: Columbus Blue Jackets 6, Pittsburgh Penguins 2

Evidence of the Blue Jackets' impressive dominance in the final 20, which blew the game open and swung the 5v5 stats that were heavily against them for two periods in their favor overall.Blue Jackets won 6-2 to end a six-game winless skid.

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— Brian Hedger ( @brianhedger.bsky.social ) November 15, 2024 at 10:48 PM

No meltdown in the third, no epic collapse sparked by Crosby or Malkin. The Blue Jackets dominated the Penguins in the third period, turning a 3-2 lead into a four-goal victory over their closest rival in the Metropolitan Division. Impressive way to end a six-game winless streak at 0-5-1, not allowing it to grow.

"It was important that we played how we played tonight, in particular in the third period," Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said. "We catch some breaks to get up a couple goals and we got some pucks to go through that haven't gone in for us (lately), which was wonderful, but then after that it's how we responded. We had plenty of opportunities to score (in the third), but we didn't sacrifice anything else."

GOAL, 3rd period 15:32: Columbus Blue Jackets 6, Pittsburgh Penguins 2

Down three goals, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan pulled goalie Tristan Jarry earlier than normal and pays the price shortly after doing it. Cole Sillinger fires the puck into an empty net for his third goal of the season, eliciting a confrontation with Michael Bunting on his way back to the bench to celebrate.

"He wasn't offering me an invitation (to fight)," Sillinger said. "He just had a couple slur words for me, and I don't know, the horn was going off and I didn't really hear him. It was kind of like when someone's talking to you but a train's going by. You're just like ... standing there."

The train whizzing past the Penguins on Friday night was a Blue Jackets Express.

GOAL, 3rd period 9:49: Columbus Blue Jackets 5, Pittsburgh Penguins 2

Just like that, another Blue Jackets goal. Damon Severson nets this one off a dandy feed from Sean Monahan following a scramble that started with Kirill Marchenko taking a puck strong to the net to force Jarry to make a big stop. Voronkov kept the puck alive behind the net until Monahan spotted it in traffic and tapped it out to Severson alone in the right circle. Fourth goal of the season for Severson, as the Blue Jackets are now well on their way to ending their slide.

3rd period, 9:24: Columbus Blue Jackets 4, Pittsburgh Penguins 2

We've almost reached the mid-point of the third with the Blue Jackets maintaining their two-goal lead. Last year, this situation would've been a real problem for them. They coughed up a lot of leads like this in third periods. That hasn't been an issue yet this year. Time to see if they can make another lead stand up to end this losing skid.

GOAL, 3rd period 1:56: Columbus Blue Jackets 4, Pittsburgh Penguins 2

It's the Blue Jackets who get the first goal of the third, taking a two-goal lead on a power-forward goal by Dmitri Voronkov . Camped outside the Penguins' crease, the towering Russian second-year forward jammed the puck between Jarry's pads and over the goal line for his second goal of the season.

3rd Period start: Columbus Blue Jackets 3, Pittsburgh Penguins 2

Next goal wins? The puck's back in play here at Nationwide Arena for the third period of ice hockey between the Blue Jackets and Penguins.

End of second period: Columbus Blue Jackets 3, Pittsburgh 2

Elvis Merzlikins makes a dazzling save with 22.8 seconds left in the second, sprawling out in his crease and just getting his glove up enough to snag Anthony Beauvillier 's point-blank backhand to keep the Jackets in front after two periods. That's quite a stop from the Jackets' top goalie, who made 13 on 15 shots through 40 minutes.

"I trusted, more, my instincts there," Merzlikins said. "There was many legs (around me), as well. There was no chance to go around (them), so I just trusted my instincts and it went really well."

Second period tale of the 5v5 statistical tape ... things still favor Pittsburgh, heavily, in scoring chances. Blue Jackets made up some ground in Corsi, Fenwick and shots in the middle 20. They also lead 3-2 with the third upcoming.

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— Brian Hedger ( @brianhedger.bsky.social ) November 15, 2024 at 8:54 PM

GOAL, 2nd period 16:27: Columbus Blue Jackets 3, Pittsburgh Penguins 2

A near disaster in the Blue Jackets' crease, where a collision left the net wide open with Sidney Crosby lurking, quickly turned into a 3-on-1 the other direction for Columbus late in the third. Werenski led the charge up ice and slid a perfect cross-ice feed to Mathieu Olivier just inside the Pittsburgh blue line for a wide open shot that beat Jarry over the glove from the right wing.

Olivier's fifth goal of the season put the Blue Jackets up by a goal and pushed them past two goals in a game for the first time since they routed the Edmonton Oilers 6-1 on Oct. 28 here in Columbus.

Chili chant commences.

GOAL, 2nd period 12:06 (PPG): Columbus Blue Jackets 2, Pittsburgh Penguins 2

And we're tied at Nationwide Arena, where Michael Bunting capped a power play for the Penguins with 12 seconds left on it. After recollecting the puck in the low slot, Bunting wheeled to send a shot that slipped through Merzlikins into the net for his third goal of the season.

2nd period, 7:43: Columbus Blue Jackets 2, Pittsburgh Penguins 1

The Blue Jackets get the benefit of a goaltender interference call against Pittsburgh. Is this a new dimension? Nope, Crosby wasn't on the ice. Matt Nieto was, and he went sliding into Merzlikins in the crease before the puck was shot into the net. No goal. Blue Jackets remain in front.

Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Justin Danforth (17) skates through traffic in front of the Pittsburgh Penguins' net, including goaltender Tristan Jarry (35), during the first period Friday night at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio on Nov 15, 2024. Doral Chenoweth/Columbus Dispatch

2nd period start: Columbus Blue Jackets 2, Pittsburgh Penguins 1

The Blue Jackets weren't able to capitalize on their carryover power-play time to start the second, which paved the way for the Penguins to draw an early penalty on Jake Christiansen to get their own man-advantage.

End of 1st period: Columbus Blue Jackets 2, Pittsburgh Penguins 1

Figures that after dominating statistically and going 0-3-1 on the West Coast, the Blue Jackets are now leading the Penguins 2-1 after one period that was dominated by Pittsburgh.Tristan Jarry's struggles are a real thing, apparently.Stats via @naturalstattrick.com ->

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— Brian Hedger ( @brianhedger.bsky.social ) November 15, 2024 at 7:52 PM

The Blue Jackets picked up a late power play in the first, but didn't do anything in the first 26 seconds of it. They'll have 1:34 of it left to start the second. As for the rest of the opening period, the Blue Jackets got off to a great start with a 2-0 lead before the Penguins clawed back on Beauvillier's goal.

Pittsburgh, however, dominated statistically.

According to Natural Stat Trick , the Penguins finished the first 20 minutes with significant 5-on-5 edges in attempts (57.6%), unblocked attempts (57.1%), shots on goal (9-5, 64.3%), scoring chances (12-5, 70.6%), high-danger chances (4-2, 66.7%) and expected goals (1.23-0.38, 76.4%).

GOAL, 1st period 11:51: Columbus Blue Jackets 2, Pittsburgh Penguins 1

The Penguins strike back in only a way the Penguins could strike back against the Blue Jackets. Crosby gets his stick on a puck sent into the slot in mid-air, flips it up in the air, it lands at the right post and Anthony Beauvillier jams it inside the pipe before Elvis Merzlikins can get his skate over to it. Crosby needs two goals for 600 in his career. He'll settle for a unique assist on this one.

GOAL, 1st period 8:39: Columbus Blue Jackets 2, Pittsburgh Penguins 0

There's a ... power play goal for the Blue Jackets? Yep, Zach Werenski smokes one past Jarry on the glove side from above the right circle. Nice feed across the high slot from Yegor Chinakhov , who gets the first assist. Adam Fantilli gets the secondary helper. The Jackets are scorching at the start here against the Penguins.

Columbus Blue Jackets center Sean Kuraly celebrates a goal by Zach Aston-Reese (not pictured). Aston-Reese scored the first goal of of the Blue Jackets' 6-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, picking up an assist from Jake Christiansen (2) early in the first period Friday night at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio on Nov. 15, 2024. Doral Chenoweth/Columbus Dispatch

GOAL, 1st period 2:20: Columbus Blue Jackets 1, Pittsburgh Penguins 0

Aston-Reese, who had a strong game Tuesday night in Seattle , gets the Blue Jackets on the board quickly with assists going to defenseman Jake Christiansen and forward Kevin Labanc . The assist for Labanc is his eight of the season and ninth point in 12 games.

GAME START: Columbus Blue Jackets 0, Pittsburgh Penguins 0

The puck is down at Nationwide Arena, where the Blue Jackets gained an early 1-0 lead on a goal by former Penguins forward Zach Aston-Reese. More on that next post.

Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Dean Evason talks to his team during the second period of the NHL hockey game against the Edmonton Oilers at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Monday, Oct. 28, 2024.

Columbus Blue Jackets quote from morning skate vs Pittsburgh Penguins

Head coach Dean Evason: "You have to be as positive as you can, but you can't be, like, 'It's OK,' because it's not OK. You can still be (angry) and aggressive with that. You can still be positive, but disappointed and (mad). So, we need to turn all that energy into the start of the game tonight." ― on dealing with the Blue Jackets' six-game winless skid.

Defenseman Zach Werenski: "Most guys here don't have any memories or thoughts of that, to be honest. Me and Boone a little bit, but I haven't even thought about it. I know we haven't won in Pittsburgh in a little while, but playing them at home, it hasn't crossed my mind. Obviously, it's a divisional game. They're a team that's going to play desperate tonight. They need wins and points ... and so do we. It should be a good game, but I don't think the history of it is a factor." — on the Penguins' domination of the all-time series.

Forward Cole Sillinger:"I think situationally for us, with how the last six (games) went, I think that's more important to focus on that than to worry about who you're playing. Obviously, this is a big one for us. Playing Pittsburgh maybe enhances that a little more, but we have a chance to win on a Friday night in our building and we haven't played in front of our fans in a couple weeks now. So, we're all super excited to get back here and play again at Nationwide. It makes it even better that we're playing Pittsburgh. It's always a high energy game, and there's going to be a lot of energy in the building." — on ending the losing skid.

Columbus Blue Jackets vs Pittsburgh Penguins: Lineups

COLUMBUS

Forwards

(10) Dmitri Voronkov — (23) Sean Monahan — (86) Kirill Marchenko

(59) Yegor Chinakhov — (19) Adam Fantilli — (4) Cole Sillinger

(82) Mikael Pyyhtia — Justin Danforth — (24) Mathieu Olivier

(27) Zach Aston-Reese — (7) Sean Kuraly — (62) Kevin Labanc

Defense pairings

(8) Zach Werenski — (15) Dante Fabbro

(9) Ivan Provorov — (78) Damon Severson

(2) Jake Christiansen — (22) Jordan Harris

Goalies

(90) Elvis Merzlikins

(40) Daniil Tarasov

Scratched: D Jack Johnson , David Jiricek , F James van Riemsdyk

Injured: F Boone Jenner (shoulder surgery), D Erik Gudbranson (shoulder surgery), F Kent Johnson (shoulder) and F Gavin Brindley (fractured finger)

PITTSBURGH

Forwards

(72) Anthony Beauvillier — (87) Sidney Crosby — (67) Rickard Rakell

(8) Michael Bunting — (71) Evgeni Malkin — (17) Bryan Rust

(18) Jesse Puljujarvi — (10) Drew O'Connor — (22) Sam Poulin

(83) Matthew Nieto — (55) Noel Acciari — (48) Valtteri Puustinen

Defense pairings

(28) Marcus Pettersson — (65) Erik Karlsson

(24) Matt Grzelcyk — (3) Jack St. Ivany

(27) Ryan Graves — (5) Ryan Shea

Goalies

(35) Tristan Jarry

(39) Alex Nedeljkovic

Scratched: C Vasiliy Ponomarev, D Owen Pickering

Injured: C Cody Glass (concussion), C Kevin Hayes (upper body), D Kris Letang (illness), C Blake Lizotte (concussion)

Columbus Blue Jackets vs Pittsburgh Penguins history

All-time record:The Blue Jackets are just 16-29-9 against the Penguins, including 12-11-4 at Nationwide Arena. The Jackets went 1-3-0 against Pittsburgh last season and are 2-7-1 in their past 10 games against "Sid The Kid" and his bunch.
Last meeting:The Blue Jackets captured their lone victory in four tries against the Penguins last season, winning 4-3 on March 30 via shootout at Nationwide Arena. Mathieu Olivier, Kirill Marchenko and Werenski scored goals in regulation for Columbus, while defenseman Damon Severson scored the deciding goal of the shootout. Merzlikins stopped 30 of 33 shots to earn the goaltending win, while Alex Nedeljkovic took the loss for Pittsburgh.
2024 matchups:Nov. 15 in Columbus; Jan. 7, 2025 and March 21, 2025 in Pittsburgh

Oct 3, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets center Kent Johnson (91) moves the puck in front of Pittsburgh Penguins center Jonathan Gruden (44) during the second period of the NHL hockey game at Nationwide Arena.

Columbus Blue Jackets news

Blue Jackets notes: Will Jiricek be the odd man out?

Injury update: Kent Johnson making strides in return effort

Kraken 5, Blue Jackets 2: Takeaways

Rewind: Strong start in Seattle fizzles, Blue Jackets drop sixth straight

Dante Fabbro joins the Blue Jackets' blue line via waivers

Columbus Blue Jackets November 2024 schedule, record

Here's a look at the Blue Jackets' schedule for November, along with start times, television, and radio information of upcoming games:

Friday, Nov. 1: Blue Jackets vs Winnipeg Jets (L, 6-2) ; Takeaways ; Photos
Saturday, Nov. 2: Blue Jackets at Capitals (L, 7-2) ; Takeaways
Tuesday, Nov. 5: Blue Jackets at Sharks (OTL, 2-1); Takeaways
Saturday, Nov. 9: Blue Jackets at Kings (L, 5-2) ; Takeaways
Sunday, Nov. 10: Blue Jackets at Ducks (L,4-2) ; Takeaways
Tuesday, Nov. 12: Blue Jackets at Kraken (L, 5-2) ; Takeaways
Friday, Nov. 15:Blue Jackets vs Penguins | 7 p.m. | FanDuel Sports Network Ohio | 93.3 The Bus
Saturday, Nov. 16:Blue Jackets at Canadiens | 7 p.m. | FanDuel Sports Network Ohio | 97.1 The Fan
Monday, Nov. 18:Blue Jackets at Boston Bruins | 7 p.m. | FanDuel Sports Network Ohio | 97.1 The Fan
Thursday, Nov. 21:Blue Jackets vs Lightning | 7 p.m. | FanDuel Sports Network Ohio | 97.1 The Fan
Saturday, Nov. 23:Blue Jackets vs Hurricanes | 7 p.m. | FanDuel Sports Network Ohio | 97.1 The Fan
Wednesday, Nov. 27:Blue Jackets vs Canadiens | 7:30 p.m. | FanDuel Sports Network Ohio | 97.1 The Fan
Friday, Nov. 29:Blue Jackets vs Calgary Flames | 3 p.m. | FanDuel Sports Network Ohio | 93.3 The Bus
November Record:0-5-0, 8th place, Metropolitan Division