Tuesday, November 14, 2023, 7:00 PM ET
Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
TV: Bally Sports Ohio; Radio: 97.1 FM
Columbus Blue Jackets (4-7-4, 12 points, 8th Metro, 16th East)
vs
Pittsburgh Penguins (7-6-0, 14 points, 6th Metro, 13th East)
Only two points separate these two teams in the standings, but the Penguins, after a slow start, are on a four-game winning streak and have three more regulation wins than the Blue Jackets. They also have two games in hand over Columbus.
The Jackets have lost five straight, including two third-period blown leads. This team has a bad habit of spending more and more time in their own zone as the game progresses. Let’s see if they can buck that trend tonight.
Player to Watch
Dmitri Voronkov
VRONK is currently second in the entire NHL in points per 60 minutes at 5v5 among players that have played at least 50 minutes. He also has a 100% IPP, meaning he has a point with every goal that’s been scored with him on the ice. With 2-5-7 in 9 games played, he’s certainly made his mark so far.
He had one particular play against the Rangers that really stood out. On the forecheck, he bodied the Ranger defenseman, knocked him over and off the puck, then took the puck and got a shot on net. He’s a menace and brute out there.
Jackets Notes
Jiricek was recalled yesterday after being sent to Cleveland for the weekend … Roslovic was moved to IR and will miss four to six weeks with a fractured ankle … A regulation loss tonight would officially put this team behind last season’s team after 16 games.
The Other Bench
The Penguins started off the season 3-6-0. Since their sixth loss, they’ve rattled off four wins in a row. In those 4 games (one was a 10-goal game against the Sharks), they scored 20 goals and only allowed 5 against, including two shutouts.
Season Series
11/14/23 PIT @ CBJ
03/05/24 CBJ @ PIT
03/28/24 CBJ @ PIT
03/30/24 PIT @ CBJ
Stats
| Pittsburgh | Columbus | |
| 3.54 (7) | GPG | 2.73 (25) |
| 2.62 (6) | GAPG | 3.47 (24) |
| 18.4 (19) | PP% | 13.0 (27) |
| 83.3 (11) | PK% | 89.1 (3) |
| 53.96 (8) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 46.95 (27) |
| 53.35 (9) | 5v5 Unblocked Shot Attempt % | 46.86 (27) |
| 9.32 (12) | 5v5 Shooting % | 8.90 (14) |
| 92.74 (8) | 5v5 Save % | 90.19 (22) |
| Evgeni Malkin, 8 | G Leader | Boone Jenner, 7 |
| Jake Guentzel, 11 | A Leader | Ivan Provorov, 9 |
| Guentzel, Malkin, 16 | P Leader | Fantilli, Provorov, Jenner, 9 |
| Evgeni Malkin, 16 | PIM Leader | Sean Kuraly, 16 |
| 4-2-0 | Home/Road | 3-4-1 |
| 5-5-0 | Last 10 | 1-5-4 |
Projected Lineups
Columbus Blue Jackets
| Yegor Chinakhov | Boone Jenner | Patrik Laine |
| Dmitri Voronkov | Adam Fantilli | Kirill Marchenko |
| Johnny Gaudreau | Cole Sillinger | Emil Bemstrom |
| Alexandre Texier | Sean Kuraly | Justin Danforth |
| Zach Werenski | Damon Severson |
| Ivan Provorov | David Jiricek |
| Jake Bean | Erik Gudbranson |
| Elvis Merzlikins |
| Spencer Martin |
Pittsburgh Penguins
| Jake Guentzel | Sidney Crosby | Bryan Rust |
| Reilly Smith | Evgeni Malkin | Rickard Rakell |
| Drew O’Connor | Lars Eller | Radim Zohorna |
| Matthew Nieto | Noel Acciari | Vinnie Hinostroza |
| Ryan Graves | Kris Letang |
| Marcus Pettersson | Erik Karlsson |
| Ryan Shea | Chad Ruhwedel |
| Tristan Jarry |
| Magnus Hellberg |