Tuesday, January 7, 2025 – 7:00 PM EST
PPG Paints Arena – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
TV: FDSNOH; Radio: 97.1 FM
Opponent’s Site: Pensburgh
Columbus Blue Jackets (17-17-6, 40 points, 5th Metro, 11th East)
at
Pittsburgh Penguins (17-17-7, 41 points, 4th Metro, 9th East)
Almost two months since a cathartic 6-2 win over our erstwhile rivals, the Blue Jackets and Penguins find themselves nearly tied in the standings. Each is at hockey .500 with Pittsburgh having played one more game (and earning a Bettman point in said game). Pittsburgh has as many points as current eighth place Montreal and the Jackets are one point behind. That means the winner of tonight’s game could move into playoff position.
Player to Watch
The Goalies
These teams are tied for dead last in the league in goals allowed per game, and are both near the bottom in 5v5 save percentage. Take the over on this one. Which defense will help out, and which netminder will step and make a few extra saves?
Jackets Notes
The 11/7 experiment may finally come to an end. Dean Evason said after Saturday’s game that he intended to dress 12 forwards, but Kevin Labanc had to miss the game for the birth of his second child … Speaking of goalies, Jet Greaves was named the AHL player of the week.
Team USA won its second consecutive World Junior Championship on Sunday. Like the Blue Jackets, they hung Johnny Gaudreau’s jersey in their locker room throughout the tournament.
The Other Bench
After a 0-1-2 road trip, the Penguins start a five game homestand tonight … Sidney Crosby broke the franchise record for career assists on December 29. In late November, he scored his 600th goal, becoming just the 21st player in NHL history to achieve that milestone.
Season Series
11/15/2024 PIT 2 @ CBJ 6
01/07/2025 CBJ @ PIT
03/21/2025 CBJ @ PIT
Stats
| Pittsburgh | Columbus | |
| 3.02 (15) | GPG | 3.38 (6) |
| 3.63 (32) | GAPG | 3.63 (32) |
| 25.6 (5) | PP% | 22.4 (14) |
| 81.7 (12) | PK% | 73.5 (27) |
| 49.5 (15) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 49.3 (18) |
| 48.7 (25) | 5v5 Unblocked Shot Attempt % | 49.7 (16) |
| 8.8 (15) | 5v5 Shooting % | 10.0 (6) |
| 89.4 (29) | 5v5 Save % | 89.8 (27) |
| Rickard Rakell, 18 | G Leader | Kirill Marchenko, 17 |
| Sidney Crosby, 31 | A Leader | Zach Werenski, 33 |
| Sidney Crosby, 42 | P Leader | Zach Werenski, 45 |
| Michael Bunting, 32 | PIM Leader | Mathieu Olivier, 79 |
| 11-7-2 | Home/Road | 4-12-3 |
| 4-3-3 | Last 10 | 5-4-1 |
Projected Lineups
Columbus Blue Jackets
| Dmitri Voronkov | Sean Monahan | Kirill Marchenko |
| James van Riemsdyk | Cole Sillinger | Kent Johnson |
| Zach Aston-Reese | Adam Fantilli | Mathieu Olivier |
| Mikael Pyyhtia | Sean Kuraly | Kevin Labanc |
| Zach Werenski | Dante Fabbro |
| Denton Mateychuk | Ivan Provorov |
| Jack Johnson | Jake Christiansen |
| Elvis Merzlikins |
| Daniil Tarasov |
Pittsburgh Penguins
| Rickard Rakelll | Sidney Crosby | Bryan Rust |
| Michael Bunting | Evgeni Malkin | Cody Glass |
| Drew O’Connor | Kevin Hayes | Anthony Beauvillier |
| Matthew Nieto | Blake Lizotte | Noel Acciari |
| Marcus Pettersson | Kris Letang |
| Matt Grzelcyk | Erik Karlsson |
| Owen Pickering | Pierre-Olivier Joseph |
| Tristan Jarry |
| Alex Nedeljkovic |