Columbus Blue Jackets at Pittsburgh Penguins
Thursday, September 19, 2019 – 7:00 EST
PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
Radio: WBNS 97.1 FM
Opponent’s blog: Pensburgh
Columbus Blue Jackets (1-0-0)
@
Pittsburgh Penguins (0-0-1)
The Columbus Blue Jackets make their first road trip of the preseason tonight, taking on the Pittsburgh Penguins for the first of two meetings between the clubs this preseason. The Jackets are coming off of a 4-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres, while the Penguins are coming off of a 5-4 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night. In that overtime loss, the Penguins faced the bulk of the Sabres’ regular season squad and were outshot 47-18 on the night.
The Jackets will have Brandon Dubinsky, Sonny Milano, and Kevin Stenlund play second games this week in addition to the rest of the roster changes.
Of note, it was announced yesterday that Liam Foudy is out four to six weeks with an upper body injury suffered in Traverse City.
Liam Foudy out 4 to 6 wks w an upper-body injury, suffered in final game #CBJ game of TC prospects tourney. He already was in a tough spot to make club out of camp, but that’s out of the question now.
He’s w OHL London for rehabilitation, will return to Columbus to get cleared.— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) September 18, 2019
Player to Watch
Elvis Merzlikins
Elvis is finally ready to make his first start of the NHL (pre)season. On the roster for game number two of the preseason, Merzlikins is expected to play 30 minutes of action. He will face a talented Penguins lineup that includes several of their stars, so Elvis will be getting a trial by fire in his first start.
The Other Bench
The Penguins lost to the Sabres 5-4 in overtime on Monday, getting outshot 47-18 in the process. The focus for the Pens appears to be the backup goalie battle between Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith, and the Penguins official site offered this:
It was a stellar showing from goaltender Tristan Jarry, who is battling for a job as the Penguins backup goaltender. Jarry came in cold halfway through the game (Casey DeSmith got the start) and immediately stopped Tage Thompson on a breakaway. Then he slid over to stop Conor Sheary on a one-timer chance off of a 2-on-1 rush. He was under fire from the get-go, and held his own. His biggest save was a sliding, split-pad save on Thompson with five minutes left and the game tied.
Rosters
Columbus Blue Jackets
#CBJ roster at #Pens on Thursday… pic.twitter.com/TKYanNJBQP
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) September 18, 2019
Pittsburgh Penguins
Tomorrow’s lineup vs. Columbus:
Forwards:
Simon
Tanev
Galchenyuk
Bjorkqvist
Poulin
Kahun
Bjugstad
Legare
Lafferty
Guentzel
Malkin
HornqvistDefensemen:
Schultz
Marino
Pettersson
Gudbranson
Warsofsky
JosephGoalies:
Murray
D’Orio pic.twitter.com/M8qZ1JDIjm— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) September 18, 2019