Saturday, October 22, 2022
Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
TV: Bally Sports Ohio, ESPN+ – Radio: 97.1 FM
Opponent’s Blog: Pensburgh
Pittsburgh Penguins (3-0-1, 7 points, 1st Metropolitan, 2nd East)
at
Columbus Blue Jackets (2-3-0, 4 points, 8th Metropolitan, 16th East)
After a pair of come-from-behind wins to pull out of an early-season nosedive, the Jackets welcome the Penguins into Nationwide for their first matchup of the season.
Player to Watch: Nick Blankenburg
The Jackets scratched Nick Blankenburg for the first three games of the season, and went 0-3. They then inserted him into the lineup for the two most recent games, and are 2-0 in those contests. Coincidence? I think not. Only a little. Blanks has been a godsend, a furious ball of energy making a difference. He led the comeback Thursday against Nashville, is there more BlankenMagic left in the tank?
Jackets Notes
Again, expect the same or very similar lineup to the last game. … Patrik Laine has been skating in practice in full gear, and took some one-timers yesterday. Could he return ahead of his projected 3-week timeframe? … Johnny Hockey has been a standout in the past two games as well, and will need to contribute for the Jackets to stand a chance versus Pittsburgh.
The Other Bench
The Penguins are off to a hot start, yet to lose a game in regulation. … Pittsburgh is expected to go with a 11/7 arrangement tonight, with Jake Guentzel injured and Teddy Blueger day-to-day. … This is the first game of a five-game trip for the Penguins, as they tour the Pacific Northwest following tonight. Their OTL came in their only road game so far. … The Pens lead the NHL with 5 goals per game.
Season Series
10/22/2022 PIT at CBJ
12/6/2022 CBJ at PIT
3/7/2023 CBJ at PIT
4/13/2023 PIT at CBJ
Stats
| Pittsburgh | Columbus | |
|---|---|---|
| 5.00 (1) | GPG | 2.80 (23) |
| 2.00 (2) | GAPG | 4.00 (27) |
| 31.3% (7) | PP% | sigh |
| 72.2% (25) | PK% | 86.7% (9) |
| 50.9% (14) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 45.2% (25) |
| 54.2% (6) | 5v5 Unblocked shot attempt % | 46.7% (23) |
| 11.2% (5) | 5v5 Shot % | 9.1% (17) |
| .979 (1) | 5v5 Save % | .879 (30) |
| Jake Guentzel and Evgeni Malkin, 3 | Goals Leader | Johnny Hockey, 4 |
| Sidney Crosby, 5 | Assists Leader | Yegor Chinakhov, 4 |
| Sidney Crosby, 7 | P Leader | Johnny Hockey, 6 |
| Jeff Petry, 8 | PIM Leader | Cole Sillinger and Captain Boone Jenner, 6 |
| 0-0-1 | Home / Road | 2-1-0 |
| 46-25-11 | Last Season | 37-38-7 |
Projected Lineups
Columbus Blue Jackets
| Gustav Nyquist | Captain Boone Jenner | Johnny Hockey |
| Kent Johnson | Jack Roslovic | Jakub Voracek |
| Justin Danforth | Cole Sillinger | Yegor Chinakhov |
| Eric Robinson | Sean Kuraly | Mattieu Olivier |
| Zach Werenski | Nick Blankenburg |
| Vladislav Gavrikov | Andrew Peeke |
| Jake Bean | Erik Gudbranson |
| Elvis Merzlikins |
| Daniil Tarasov |
Pittsburgh Penguins
| Danton Heinen | Sidney Crosby | Rickard Rakell |
| Jason Zucker | Evgeni Malkin | Bryan Rust |
| Brock McGinn | J**f C****r | Kasperi Kapanen |
| Ryan Poehling | Josh Archibald |
| Brian Dumoulin | Kris Letang |
| Jeff Petry | Marcus Pettersson |
| Pierre-Olivier Jospeh | Jan Rutta/Chad Ruhwedel |
| Tristan Jarry |
| Casey DeSmith |