Tuesday, March 22, 2022 – 7:00 EDT
PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
TV: Bally Sports Ohio; Radio: 97.1 FM
Opponent’s Blog: Pensburgh
Columbus Blue Jackets (32-28-3, 67 points, 5th Metro, 9th East)
vs.
Pittsburgh Penguins (38-16-9, 85 points, 3rd Metro, 4th East)
Well, the trade deadline came and went yesterday, and with it went Max Domi. Bye, buddy! Best of luck in Carolina – I’m excited to see him on a team vying for the Cup. Read the full trade details here. Anyways, onto finishing up the Blue Jackets’ regular season as their hopes for a playoff spot all but evaporated during last week’s large loss (7-2) to the Washington Capitals. After a good win over the Blues on Saturday night, the Jackets can only hope to save some face in tonight’s matchup against a very capable Penguins squad.
Player to Watch
Eric Robinson
E-Rob had a great game on Saturday night, notching two assists and being very visible on the ice. He’s really started to develop as someone the team can depend on to make important, productive plays this season and it’s been fun to watch him step into that role. Here’s hoping he can step up against the Penguins tonight.
Joonas Korpisalo
I breathed many enormous sighs of relief that this man was still with us as of 3 p.m. yesterday. With Elvis out indeterminately with a lower back injury, Korpi has a chance to prove he was worth keeping around. Rooting for him forever!
Jackets Notes
As I mentioned, Elvis is out “for a bit” (according to Lars) with a lower back injury sustained in the third period of Saturday night’s game … Max Domi was traded away to the Canes, as expected … Brendan Gaunce is permanently with the team for the rest of the season, so that’s cool!
The Other Bench
The Penguins are sitting securely in a playoff position, third in the Metro and fourth in the Eastern conference – they just acquired Rickard Rakell from Anaheim and Nathan Beaulieu from Winnipeg before the trade deadline yesterday, and they’ll be relying on the health of their players to take them far into the playoffs, combined with a strong defense and offensive lines that cause headaches for everyone they play. We hate to see it!
Season Series
1/21/2022 PIT 5 @ CBJ 2
2/27/2022 PIT 3 @ CBJ 2
3/22/2022 CBJ @ PIT
4/29/2022 CBJ @ PIT
Stats
| Pittsburgh | Columbus | |
|---|---|---|
| 3.21 (13) | GPG | 3.27 (11) |
| 2.57 (4) | GAPG | 3.68 (30) |
| 20.2% (17) | PP% | 18.3% (25) |
| 86.5% (2) | PK% | 78.1% (20) |
| 52.8% (8) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 47.0% (25) |
| 53.6% (6) | 5v5 Unblocked shot attempt % | 46.4% (28) |
| 7.7 (21) | 5v5 Shooting % | 9.5 (6) |
| .924 (8) | 5v5 Save % | .907 (30) |
| Jake Guentzel, 29 | G Leader | Patrik Laine, 25 |
| Kris Letang, 46 | A Leader | Jakub Voracek, 41 |
| Jake Guentzel and Sidney Crosby, 61 | P Leader | Oliver BJORKSTRAND and Patrik Laine, 48 |
| Kris Letang, 43 | PIM Leader | Sean Kuraly, 53 |
| 17-9-5 | Home / Road | 14-15-0 |
| 7-2-1 | Last 10 | 5-3-2 |
Projected Lines
Columbus Blue Jackets
| Gus Nyquist | Jack Roslovic | Patrik Laine |
| Jakub Voracek | Cole Sillinger | Oliver BJORKSTRAND |
| Brendan Gaunce | Justin Danforth | Yegor Chinakhov |
| Eric Robinson | Sean Kuraly | Emil Bemstrom |
| Zach Werenski | Andrew Peeke |
| Vladislav Gavrikov | Jake Bean |
| Gabriel Carlsson | Dean Kukan |
| Joonas Korpisalo |
| J-F Berube |
Pittsburgh Penguins
| Jake Guentzel | Sidney Crosby | Bryan Rust |
| Danton Heinen | Evgeni Malkin | Rickard Rakell |
| Kasperi Kapanen | Jeff Carter | Evan Rodrigues |
| Brian Boyle | Teddy Blueger | Radim Zohorna |
| Brian Dumoulin | Kris Letang |
| Michael Matheson | John Marino |
| Marcus Pettersson | Chad Ruhwedel |
| Tristan Jarry |
| Casey DeSmith |