Gameday Preview: Blue Jackets at Penguins

The Details

BLUE JACKETS at PENGUINS
GAME INFO
COLUMBUS: 20-37-6, 8th in Metropolitan
PITTSBURGH: 31-22-9, 5th in Metropolitan
PPG PAINTS ARENA, 7 p.m. ET
BROADCAST INFO
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BY THE NUMBERS
CBJ Player Statistics
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NHL Standings
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What They're Saying

The Blue Jackets have played 12 games since the NHL All-Star break, and there has been a consistent theme.
Just about everyone the Blue Jackets are playing is in desperate need of points.
Eleven of the 12 games Columbus has played have come against teams either in playoff position or battling to get in, which means the Blue Jackets have to bring the intensity every night. They had done a good job of that before Saturday, when an Ottawa team battling for its first playoff appearance in six seasons blitzed Columbus out of the gates in what became a 5-2 win for the Senators.
"They were hungrier," head coach Brad Larsen said. "It was easy. There's no secret to what's going on. There's no magic formula, you have to get hungrier. Too many guys were watching and not playing."
Added Patrik Laine: "We talked about before the game they're gonna come hard, and I have no clue how we were so surprised with how hard they came, especially in the beginning. They kept coming at us the whole game, and we were just sleeping for 60 minutes."
Things don't get any easier tonight as the Blue Jackets head to Pittsburgh to take on a Penguins team that is by no means guaranteed to extend its postseason streak.

Know The Foe: Pittsburgh Penguins

Head coach:Mike Sullivan (Ninth season)
Season Stats:Goals per game: 3.23 (14th) | Scoring defense: 3.19 (18th) | PP: 20.8 percent (18th) | PK: 79.6 percent (15th)
The narrative:The Penguins appear to be on track for a 17th consecutive postseason appearance, but it's not a guarantee as the squad holds the last wild card spot coming into the game with a bevy of hungry teams nipping at its heels. The triumvirate of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang continues to get the job done on the ice, but the supporting cast has struggled, leading to some trade deadline shakeups and heat on general manager Ron Hextall.
2022-23 leaders:At this point, you know the names. Crosby continues to be an elite player, leading the team in all three major categories with 27 goals, 46 assists and 73 points (T-15 in the NHL). Malkin continues to produce as well with a 23-40-63 line, while longtime CBJ killer Jake Guentzel has 24 goals among his 54 points. Richard Rakell has fit in during his first full season, adding 21-21-42, while Letang leads the defensemen with a 8-21-29 line in 44 games while dealing with injury and adversity.
In net, the Pens have gotten solid performances out of Tristan Jarry, as the 2022 All-Star is 19-7-5 in 32 games with a 2.77 GAA and .916 save percentage.
What's new:Sensing he needed some changes to his bottom six, Hextall acquired Mikael Granlund and Nick Bonino at the trade deadline while saying goodbye to Brock McGinn and Teddy Bleuger, while Kasperi Kapanen was waived. There was some negativity in the fan base around the moves as fans clamor to make the most of Crosby and Malkin's remaining years, but Pittsburgh is in a hot stretch, posting a four-game winning streak before a loss Saturday at Florida.
Trending:A win in Pittsburgh would qualify as history at this point, as Columbus is 0-8-4 in its last 12 games in the Steel City. The Blue Jackets haven't won in Pittsburgh since a 2-1 victory Nov. 13, 2015. The Pens also have won the two previous contests this season.
Former CBJ:The twilight appears nigh for Jeff Carter, as the 38-year-old center has played in 59 games this year and has a 9-14-23 mark on the campaign.

3 Keys to the Game

Break the curse: Maybe it's good this is a relatively green group of Blue Jackets, as they might not know the team's history in the city. Not thinking about it might be the best way to get that elusive win.
Stay with it: One of the problems for the Jackets over the years in Pittsburgh has been letting one goal against become two or three. Columbus has to gather itself in what is generally a tough environment to do so.
Elvis back on track: Elvis Merzlikins is coming off a rough start in the second end of a back-to-back, but he had strung together good performances before that. Good goaltending is a key to any win against the Pens.

3 Stats to Know

• The Blue Jackets rank eighth in the NHL in power-play percentage since Jan. 21, converting on 12 of 48 opportunities (25.0 percent) over the last 18 contests.
• Laine has scored goals in two straight games and has a 3-4-7 line in the last five games. Overall, he has a 10-16-26 line in the last 24 games.
• Milestone watch: GM Jarmo Kekalainen is two games from 800 for his NHL GM career. … Laine is five goals from 200 for his NHL career (195-174-369, 455 GP).

Who's Hot

Before the Ottawa contest, Merzlikins had posted a .924 save percentage in the previous three games by stopping 110 of 119 shots against. … Kirill Marchenko's 16 goals are the most in franchise history for a player in his first 37 NHL games. They also are tied for third-most ever for a CBJ rookie with Boone Jenner (2013-14) and Cole Sillinger (2021-22), and he is tied for second in the league among rookie goal scorers. … Defenseman Adam Boqvist has a 3-14-17 line in his last 22 games and has set a new career high with 15 assists this season. … With Marchenko and Kent Johnson (13) both in double digits, this is the third time in CBJ history that two rookies have at least 10 goals. ... Johnson's 13-16-29 line places him in the top 10 in team history among rookies in goals (tied for seventh) and points (tied for ninth). He ranks sixth in the NHL in goals and is tied for fifth in points among rookies. … CBJ rookies lead all NHL teams in goals and place second in points with 38-38-76 in 63 games.

This Day in CBJ History

March 7, 2008: Dan Fritsche scores an extra-attacker goal at 19:59 of the third period, tying the score at 1 with 0.8 seconds to play, before the Blue Jackets would fall in overtime vs. Edmonton.
March 7, 2009: Rick Nash notches his second hat trick against Detroit of the season, scoring three unassisted goals as the Blue Jackets set a franchise record for tallies in an 8-2 victory against the Red Wings in Joe Louis Arena. Nash became the first NHL player to score three unassisted goals since 1948 (Montreal's Maurice Richard).
March 7, 2017: Sergei Bobrovsky makes 33 saves in a 3-0 shutout win over New Jersey in Nationwide Arena, giving him three shutouts in a span of six days.
March 7, 2022: Zach Werenski becomes the all-time leader in points among a defenseman in franchise history, notching an assist to earn his 224th point and pass Seth Jones during a 5-4 loss vs. Toronto.

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)
Johnny Gaudreau - Boone Jenner - Kirill Marchenko
Kent Johnson - Jack Roslovic - Patrik Laine
Eric Robinson - Cole Sillinger - Mathieu Olivier
Liam Foudy - Lane Pederson - Emil Bemstrom
Tim Berni - Erik Gudbranson
Nick Blankenburg - Andrew Peeke
Gavin Bayreuther - Adam Boqvist
Elvis Merzlikins
Michael Hutchinson
Scratches:Sean Kuraly (oblique, out six weeks as of March 3)
Injured reserve: Jake Bean (shoulder, out four to six months after surgery in November); Zach Werenski (shoulder surgery, out for season); Justin Danforth (shoulder surgery, out for season)
Roster Report:With Columbus having just 18 healthy bodies, no changes are expected to the lineup.