4 Takeaways From Penguins 7-3 Comeback Victory Over Blue Jackets

The Pittsburgh Penguins wrapped up their pre-season schedule on Friday night at PPG Paints Arena with a thrilling display of offense in a 7-3 comeback win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

After picking up a 3-1 win on Thursday night at Nationwide Arena, without Sidney Crosby and other veteran players, the Penguins began the contest sluggish, falling behind 2-0 with no shots on goal. 

However, they flipped the switch late in the opening period, tied things up 2-2, and then netted seven of the following eight goals to walk away with a 7-3 triumph.

Here are a few observations from Friday night's victory.

After coming to Pittsburgh in an August blockbuster, top prospect Rutger McGroarty had been snake-bitten all pre-season. Despite some fabulous scoring opportunities, the 20-year-old finally lit the lamp in the finale, thanks to a beautiful setup by Jesse Puljujarvi and Lars Eller.

The trio were the stars on the night, with Eller scoring two goals and Puljujarvi scoring a highlight reel breakaway goal to break the 2-2 early in the second period.

Although McGroarty and Puljujarvi had yet to lock in a spot with the Penguins for Opening Night, their performances on Friday night strengthened their cases. Although outsiders would love to have the talent in the Pittsburgh lineup, no one wants to be the one who has to make the final decision on who stays and who goes.

Crosby dressed for only his third pre-season game and had an assist on Rickard Rakell's first-period power-play goal. Besides that moment, he had a relatively quiet night playing 17:22 and winning 50% of his face-offs.

Kris Letang had two assists while skating 22:21, and Evgeni Malkin was minus-3 in 15:44 and finished 45.5% in the face-off circle. As the top three skaters in the Pittsburgh lineup, they are continuously relied upon to carry the offense nightly.

However, several bottom six skaters stepped up big on Friday, giving the veterans a chance to have a night off and not shoulder the burden for a change. As mentioned, Eller had two goals, and Noel Acciari also had two. Puljujarvi and McGroarty each had three points. 

For the Penguins to return to the playoffs, they need contributions from everyone, which happened on Friday night, sending the team into the regular season on a high note.

Tristan Jarry played the entirety of the contest on Thursday, not dressing in the second half of the back-to-back. Instead, the Penguins rolled with Filip Larsson and Joel Blomqvist, with the latter getting the start.

Alex Nedeljkovic will be sidelined to begin the regular season, so Jarry will need a new partner to start the campaign. 

After Friday's contest, Blomqvist appears to be Jarry's backup. Even though he gave up two early first-period goals, he locked it down for the remainder of the game, only giving up a breakaway goal in the second period to finish the night with 26 saves and a .897 SV%.

Out of all the goalie prospects, Blomqvist is the next in line, so getting him more time in pre-season indicates that he'll stay in the NHL, at least until Nedeljkovic returns. 

The Penguins scored seven goals, more than enough to defeat the Blue Jackets on the scoreboard. However, Columbus was among the worst statistical teams in the NHL last season. 

Although their lineup was not loaded with veteran players, they collected more shots, had more hits, fewer giveaways, and had more takeaways. 

The only statistical category in which they didn't stand a chance was face-offs, in which the Penguins won handily, 58.8% to 41.2%. 

It's an interesting observation since the Blue Jackets had a stronger lineup on Thursday but didn't come close to leading any categories except shots and giveaways. 

With an NHL-ready lineup, Pittsburgh can't afford nights like these constantly, especially against some of the league's elite. Scoring seven goals won't be an everyday occasion. Meanwhile, getting outshot, outmuscled, and coughing up the puck over ten times is a recipe for disaster in meaningful games. 

The Penguins begin their 2024-25 season on Wednesday, October 9, against the New York Rangers at PPG Paints Arena.

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