BLUE JACKETS (21-30-10) at PENGUINS (27-24-8), 7 PM, PPG PAINTS ARENA
COLUMBUS, 8th in Metropolitan | PITTSBURGH, 7th in Metropolitan |
PREVIEW: Blue Jackets look to keep building against Penguins
Columbus has won two in a row as it heads to Pittsburgh for a fifth game in seven days
Beating a team at the bottom of the NHL standings is one thing. Following it up with a victory against the defending champs is another.
The Blue Jackets knew they’d have to step up their play a notch Monday night when welcoming Vegas to Nationwide Arena, and they got the job done, riding momentum from Saturday’s win at Chicago and posting a 6-3 triumph over the Golden Knights.
“We know they’re defending champs, so we had to play hard, play fast,” Alex Nylander said. “We have a fast team, and that’s what we did throughout the whole game. We did a really good job doing that. The goalie (Daniil Tarasov) was great. It was a great win for the team.”
Nylander, of course, did the most damage, notching a hat trick in the win. He had plenty of help, as 13 different CBJ players found the score sheet, and the Blue Jackets never trailed.
The victory marked the first time the Jackets have won consecutive games since the Wednesday before and the Friday after Thanksgiving, and Columbus has won five of the last nine.
“That traction is always important,” head coach Pascal Vincent said. “Being able to win two games and more in a row, that’s good. The team is growing. I like the growth, I really do.”
Perhaps where it’s been more noticeable is in the defensive zone, as the Jackets have allowed just 11 goals with a goalie in the net (i.e., non empty-net tallies) in the past five games.
“We want to get to a point where they don’t have to think, they just play because they know their routes,” Vincent said of the team’s improved defensive structure. “It’s not perfect, but we’re getting there. It’s faster. Our goalies are playing well, but we’re doing a better job in front of them.”
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Know The Foe: Pittsburgh Penguins
Head coach: Mike Sullivan (Ninth season)
Team stats: Goals per game: 2.92 (24th) | Scoring defense: 2.78 (8th) | PP: 14.6 percent (28th) | PK: 82.2 percent (6th)
The narrative: Is this it for the Penguins dynasty? The top players aren’t getting any younger, and this year has been a majorly disappointing season. Instead of bouncing back from last year, when the team’s 16-year playoff run came to an end, things have gotten worse, as the Pens are 10 points out of a playoff spot with 23 games to go. The team could be sellers at the deadline – is Jake Guentzel on the move? – and with seven regulars at age 33 or over and a lowly rated prospect pipeline, what’s next for Pittsburgh will be fascinating to see.
Team leaders: The unfortunate part for the Penguins is that the team’s lack of depth scoring and struggling power play are wasting another great season out of Sidney Crosby, as the legend at age 36 is still an impact player with 32 goals (tied for 10th in the NHL) and 31 assists for 63 points. Guentzel is out at the moment with injury but is second on the team with a 22-30-52 line, while Evgeni Malkin still can play, too, with 17 goals among his 46 points. Erik Karlsson has added an 8-35-43 line in his first year in Pittsburgh.
In net, Tristan Jarry has started 40 games but is 17-19-4 with a 2.60 GAA and .910 save percentage. Ohio’s own Alex Nedeljkovic is the backup and is 9-5-4 with a 2.85 GAA and .910 save percentage.
What's new: The Guentzel injury in mid-February came at the worst time for the Pens, who have struggled to score goals all season. The team is coming off a brutal Western Canada swing that featured just one win in four games, and Pittsburgh has lost three straight including a 6-1 drubbing Sunday night in Edmonton. It’s hard to bet against Crosby when it comes to willing a team to success, but the pieces just might not be there as the Pens consider what to do at the deadline.
Trending: Oddly enough for this late in the season, the teams have met just once this year, a 5-3 win for the Pens in Nationwide Arena on Nov. 14. It hasn’t been pretty of late for the Jackets in the series, as Columbus is 3-12-5 in the last 20 and hasn’t won in the Steel City since 2015.
Former CBJ: Emil Bemstrom was recently traded to the Penguins and has a goal in five games, while Jeff Carter has a 7-2-9 line in 53 games at age 39.
Roster Report
Projected Lineup (subject to change)
Johnny Gaudreau – Boone Jenner – Jack Roslovic
Alexandre Texier – Cole Sillinger – Alex Nylander
Justin Danforth – Sean Kuraly – Mathieu Olivier
Yegor Chinakhov – Dmitri Voronkov
Zach Werenski – Adam Boqvist
Ivan Provorov – Damon Severson
Jake Bean – Erik Gudbranson
Andrew Peeke
Jet Greaves
Daniil Tarasov
Scratches: Adam Fantilli (calf laceration, out eight weeks as of Jan. 31), Kirill Marchenko, Elvis Merzlikins (upper body, day to day)
Injured reserve: Kent Johnson (torn labrum in left shoulder, out for season)
Roster Report: Greaves is expected to get his fourth NHL start in Pittsburgh after being recalled Sunday, while Peeke goes in for Marchenko, who is a healthy scratch.
3 Stats to Know
- Alex Nylander is coming off his first career hat trick and the 50th in CBJ history last night. He has six points (4-2-6) in five games since joining the Blue Jackets, and his four goals since the Feb. 22 trade that sent him to Columbus are tied for seventh in the NHL.
- Blue Jackets goalies Daniil Tarasov and Elvis Merzlikins have combined to post a .924 save percentage in the last seven games, stopping 218 of 236 shots against.
- Milestone watch: Cole Sillinger is set to play in the 200th game of his NHL career (30-36-66, 199 GP). ... Zach Werenski is one assist from 200 for his NHL career (83-199-282, 464 GP).
Who’s Hot
Cole Sillinger has a four-game point streak (3-1-4) and is one of three CBJ players all-time to have at least 30 goals before their 21st birthday (Rick Nash, 58; Pierre-Luc Dubois, 47). ... With two assists Monday night, Alexander Texier has five points in his last five games (1-4-5) and notched a new career-high for points (21). ... Erik Gudbranson’s goal vs. Vegas gives him a career-high 18 points on the season. ... Johnny Gaudreau has four multipoint games in the last 11 contests (2-10-12). He now has 29 points in the last 31 games (5-24-29), 19 points in the last 19 (2-17-19) and 15 in the last 14 (2-13-15). ... Dmitri Voronkov is among NHL rookie leaders in goals (16, third) and points (30, fifth). ... Boone Jenner has six goals and five assists in 11 games since returning from the NHL All-Star Game and leads the Blue Jackets with 19 goals. ... Jack Roslovic has 10 points (2-8-10) in the last 10 games. ... The team’s rookie stat line of 29-37-66 is first in the NHL in goals and third in points.
This Day in CBJ History
March 5, 2017: Sergei Bobrovsky makes 20 saves in a 3-0 win at New Jersey, one of three shutouts in six days for the CBJ netminder.
March 5, 2022: Rick Nash becomes the first player in franchise history to have his jersey number retired. Nash’s No. 61 was raised to the rafters in a pregame ceremony before a game with the Boston Bruins that featured comments from Nash, former teammates, former CBJ coach Ken Hitchcock and former GM Doug MacLean. On the ice, Jakub Voracek’s goal with three seconds left tied the game at 4 before the Jackets lost in a shootout. A crowd of 19,434, the largest for a game (regular season or playoffs) at Nationwide Arena in club history, took in the proceedings.
