Saturday, January 17, 2026 – 7:00 PM ET
PPG Paints Arena – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
TV: FDSNOH; Radio: 97.1 FM
Columbus Blue Jackets (21-19-7, 49 points, 7th Metro, 15th East)
at
Pittsburgh Penguins (22-14-10, 54 points, 3rd Metro, 8th East)
Notes
On the heels of three straight wins, including two in regulation under new head coach Rick Bowness, the Blue Jackets seek revenge against the dreaded Pittsburgh Penguins. The Yinzers are surprisingly competitive in the East this season, but have been assisted by taking 5 standings points in 3 games against Columbus: coming back from a multi-goal deficit in each one. The key for the Jackets is to keep playing like they’ve been playing in order to get those leads, but then take the lessons they’ve learned from Bowness to hold those leads.
A regulation win could move the Jackets within 3 points of 3rd place in the Metro.
Elvis Merzlikins gets his second start in a row, which is a mild surprise. But, given his strong play on Thursday, it’s reasonable to say he’s earned it. He’ll face off against his Team Latvia teammate, Arturs Silovs.
Zach Aston-Reese slots in for Denton Heinen, and Egor Zamula is back in for Jake Christiansen. I don’t mind Bowness rotating bottom-of-the-lineup guys in order to get a good look at everyone.
Stats
| Pittsburgh | Columbus | |
| 3.17 (14) | GPG | 2.98 (21) |
| 2.91 (10) | GAPG | 3.32 (26) |
| 29.4 (2) | PP% | 20.3 (17) |
| 83.2 (6) | PK% | 74.2 (29) |
| 50.3 (15) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 50.7 (14) |
| 50.8 (11) | 5v5 Unblocked Shot Attempt % | 49.9 (16) |
| 8.6 (23) | 5v5 Shooting % | 8.8 (20) |
| 90.8 (13) | 5v5 Save % | 91.2 (11) |
| Sidney Crosby (25) | G Leader | Zach Werenski (18) |
| Erik Karlsson (29) | A Leader | Zach Werenski (33) |
| Sidney Crosby (51) | P Leader | Zach Werenski (51) |
| S. Crosby, P. Wotherspoon (32) | PIM Leader | Mathieu Olivier (60) |
| 11-7-6 | Home/Road | 10-12-3 |
| 7-2-1 | Last 10 | 5-4-1 |
Projected Lineups
Columbus Blue Jackets
| Cole Sillinger | Adam Fantilli | Kirill Marchenko |
| Boone Jenner | Sean Monahan | Kent Johnson |
| Dmitri Voronkov | Charlie Coyle | Mathieu Olivier |
| Zach Aston-Reese | Brendan Gaunce | Mikael Pyyhtia |
| Zach Werenski | Dante Fabbro |
| Ivan Provorov | Damon Severson |
| Egor Zamula | Erik Gudbranson |
| Elvis Merzlikins |
| Jet Greaves |
Pittsburgh Penguins
| Rickard Rakell | Sidney Crosby | Bryan Rust |
| Egor Chinkhov | Tommy Novak | Evgeni Malkin |
| Anthony Mantha | Ben Kindel | Justin Brazeau |
| Connor Dewar | Blake Lizotte | Noel Acciari |
| Brett Kulak | Kris Letang |
| Ryan Shea | Connor Clifton |
| Parker Wotherspoon | Jack St. Ivany |
| Arturs Silovs |
| Stuart Skinner |