Gameday Preview: Blue Jackets vs. Penguins

The Details

BLUE JACKETS vs. PENGUINS
GAME INFO
COLUMBUS: 2-3-0, T-5th in Metropolitan
PITTSBURGH: 3-0-1, T-1st in Metropolitan
NATIONWIDE ARENA, 7 p.m. ET
BUY TICKETS
BROADCAST INFO
TV:
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AUDIO:
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NHL Standings
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Johnny Columbus

What They're Saying

If there's one thing about the Blue Jackets, you know they won't ever say die.
Coming off a franchise-record 23 comeback victories a season ago, both of the Jackets' first two wins this year have been from behind. In fact, Columbus has trailed by a 2-0 score in each of those wins, making it just the fifth time in team history the club has posted consecutive multigoal comebacks.
As head coach Brad Larsen said after Thursday's 5-3 win over Nashville that included four third-period goals, it's good to know the team has the ability to fight back when in an early hole. But, having said that...
"In both (home wins), we're coming back from slow starts and down a couple of goals," he said. "It's not a position you want to be in. I want to play with the lead and want to keep building on that. That's something we want to look at and try to make sure the starts are better."
The early deficits have been the only real negatives to a pair of victories in which the Blue Jackets have played good hockey. Columbus largely dominated after the first 20 minutes of the wins against both the Canucks and Predators, limiting opposing attacks, getting to the hard scoring areas and getting contributions from up and down the lineup.
That's the style of play the Jackets are looking for, and the next step is doing it for a full contest.
"We know what we have to do to be successful," forward Justin Danforth said after Thursday's win. "Every team in the league is building. I think we knew what we have to do, and we stuck with our identity and tonight it paid off."

Know The Foe: Pittsburgh Penguins

Head coach:Mike Sullivan (Eighth season)
Season Stats:Goals per game: 5.00 (1st) | Scoring defense: 2.00 (2nd) | PP: 31.3 percent (5th) | PK: 72.2 percent (25th)
The narrative: It's hard to wrap your mind around it, but the 2016 and '17 Stanley Cup champions haven't won a playoff series since 2017-18. Largely the same crew is attempting to break that streak this season, as the Pens went into the offseason seemingly considering saying goodbye to Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang for contract reasons before re-upping both to deals that should allow them to finish their careers with Sidney Crosby in the Steel City.
2021-22 leaders:You'll recognize the names. CBJ killer Jake Guentzel led the way for Pittsburgh with 40 goals and 84 points, with the latter mark tying him with Crosby atop the team chart thanks to Sid the Kid's 31-53-84 line. Kris Letang had 10 goals and 68 points, while Bryan Rust posted a 24-34-58 line in 60 games and Malkin had 20-22-42 in 41 games. In net, Tristan Jarry was an All-Star thanks to a 34-18-6 record, 2.42 GAA and .919 save percentage.
What's new:Eight of the top nine scorers return (Evan Rodrigues is the lone player missing), and the forward group is largely the same, though youngster Ryan Poehling has been added after the first-round pick's career didn't take off in Montreal. The defensive corps is reworked, though, with Jan Rutta brought in from Tampa Bay and Jeff Petry added from Montreal to add some veteran wiles to the cause.
Pittsburgh has scored six goals in all three home games thus far, beating Arizona (6-2), Tampa Bay (6-2) and Los Angeles (6-1), but the team did lose its lone road game in overtime at Montreal (3-2). Crosby leads the way with a 2-5-7 line, while Guentzel (3-2-5), Malkin (3-2-5) and Rust (2-3-5) follow. Guentzel will not play tonight after being dinged up against the Kings on Thursday night.
Trending: The Penguins swept the four-game season series a year ago as Columbus has won just two of the last 16, though the Jackets are 4-4-1 in the last nine in Nationwide Arena.

3 Keys to the Game

A better start: The Jackets do have consecutive comeback wins, but it's probably best not to press your luck against a team as good as Pittsburgh.
Stay in the moment: The Penguins are a veteran team that knows how to handle the ebbs and flows of the game. The Blue Jackets can't have be on their game for all 60 minutes.
Three is the magic number: Columbus has given up at least three goals in all five games this year. It's hard to cut that down against a team as talented as the Pens, but it would help.

3 Stats to Know

• Johnny Gaudreau is the first-ever CBJ player to score in his first three home games with the club, as well as the second Blue Jacket ever to score in three straight home games to start a season (Rick Nash, 2003-04).
• Thursday marked the second time in Blue Jackets history the team overcame a multigoal third-period deficit to win by multiple goals (5-3 win vs. Vancouver on March 1, 2020).
• Milestone watch: Jakub Voracek is one point from 200 for his CBJ career (45-154-199), while Nyquist is two away from 100 (35-63-98). Meanwhile, Sean Kuraly is one point from 100 in his NHL career (39-60-99).

Who's Hot

Danforth has goals in two straight. … Nick Blankenburg has a goal, an assist and seven hits in two games this season after scoring the game winner with 1:23 to go Thursday night. … Yegor Chinakhov is coming off consecutive two-assist games, while Voracek has three helpers in the past two games. … Gaudreau has a four-game point streak (4-2-6) and four goals in three games in Nationwide Arena. … Voracek has a 24-32-56 line in 55 career games against Pittsburgh.

This Day in CBJ History

Oct. 22, 2000: Steve Heinze scored the first-ever extra-attacker goal in team history, tying the score at 1 with exactly a minute to play against Detroit in Nationwide Arena. The Red Wings would go on to win in overtime on a goal by Kirk Maltby.
Oct. 22, 2011: Rick Nash becomes the first Blue Jacket to skate in 600 games with the team, doing so in a game at Ottawa.
Oct. 22, 2016: Sergei Bobrovsky makes 32 saves in the Blue Jackets' first shutout win of the season, a 3-0 blanking of the Stars in Dallas. The win was Bobrovsky's 100th with Columbus, making him the first (and so far only) CBJ goalie to reach that mark.

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)
Gustav Nyquist - Boone Jenner - Johnny Gaudreau
Kent Johnson - Jack Roslovic - Jakub Voracek
Justin Danforth - Cole Sillinger - Yegor Chinakhov
Eric Robinson - Sean Kuraly - Mathieu Olivier
Zach Werenski - Nick Blankenburg
Vladislav Gavrikov - Andrew Peeke
Jake Bean - Erik Gudbranson
Elvis Merzlikins
Daniil Tarasov
Scratches:Liam Foudy, Adam Boqvist
Injured reserve/Injured non-roster: Patrik Laine (sprained elbow; three to four weeks as of Oct. 13); Joonas Korpisalo (hip, day to day); Joona Luoto (lower body, day to day)
Roster Report:The Blue Jackets will stick with the same lineup that has won the last two games, with Merzlikins making his fourth straight start.