The Pittsburgh Penguins never should have been down 4-0 to begin with, but they battled back.

PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Penguins entered their contest against the Columbus Blue Jackets with an altered lineup as both Bryan Rust and Mikael Granlund were late scratches.

Prior to the game, Alex Nylander was recalled on an emergency basis and he was one of 11 forwards and seven defensemen in the Penguins lineup.

In a way, this kind of lineup couldn’t have come at a better time; the Blue Jackets have the worst record in the NHL.

Despite that, the Blue Jackets came out and put up three goals in the first 10 minutes of the game.

Just an ugly start for the Penguins, there was no other way of putting; even if the lineup is uneven, there’s no excusing the kind of period they had.

The Penguins looked bad, and really, so did the Blue Jackets, but they jumped on opportunities and looked like the slightly better team.

Every time the Penguins touched the puck it turned into a game of hot potato; no one in black and gold looked comfortable with the puck on their stick.

Down 3-0 after one period of play, the Penguins needed to come out much stronger to start the second.

They were given a great chance to do so when the Blue Jackets began the second period with backup Michael Hutchinson in net and not Elvis Merzlikins.

That was until Liam Foudy scored to give the Jackets a 4-0 cushion, and promt the end of the night for Tristan Jarry.

With the Foudy tally, all three members of the Blue Jackets’ fourth line converted for a goal.

Jason Zucker broke through to finally give the Penguins some life with less than half of the game to play, but it was more than enough time.

20 seconds into the third period, Jake Guentzel potted his 25^th of the season to bring the Penguins a goal closer.

Zucker followed with his second of the game to pull the Penguins within one before Danton Heinen quickly scored to tie the game at four.

The Penguins continued to carry the pace of play and get shots on Hutchinson the entire period.

Nothing was able to leak through and the game went to overtime.

It was a valiant effort by the Penguins to eliminate the 4-0 lead, but it never should have gotten to that point.

The Penguins were given the benefit of a man advantage in the overtime period and were able to capitalize with a goal from Sidney Crosby.

Every game is important down the stretch and two points is two points, but that was an ugly win.

Make sure you bookmark Inside the Penguins for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more!

Bryan Rust, Mikael Granlund Out of Penguins Lineup

Penguins Recall Alex Nylander from AHL

Next Two Weeks Make or Break Penguins Season

Penguins Definitely Playoff Team, but Not Much Else

Penguins vs. Blue Jackets: Getting New Guys Going

• undefined
• undefined