Columbus Blue Jackets (71 pts) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (66 pts) Game Preview
Charles LeClaire-Imagn ImagesThe Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins play the third and final game of the season series. The Blue Jackets have won both games played this year.
The struggling Blue Jackets have a huge game tonight against the Penguins. A win will bring them two points closer to the wild card 2 spot, but a loss drop them to within two points of 7th place Pittsburgh. In fact, should they win, they would jump from sixth to fourth in the Metro.
However, there's just one thing to remember: The Columbus Blue Jackets have won just one game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh in the last ten years, and that win came in January. That game was the game that Sean Monahan was injured.
Friday's game is crucial!
Penguins Stats
- Power Play – 24.0% - 10th in NHL
- Penalty Kill – 77.3% - 19th in NHL
- Goals For - 204 – 16th – 2.90 GPG – 19th
- Goals Against – 249 – 31st – 3.56 GPG – 31st
Series History vs. The Penguins
- Columbus is 5-18-5 on the road and 18-29-9 in 56 all-time meetings vs. Pittsburgh.
- The Jackets are 4-3-1 in the last eight against the Pens, but have won three straight games.
- The CBJ has won one game at PPG Paints Arena since November 13, 2015. That win came on Jan 7, 2025.
Who To Watch For The Penguins
- Sidney Crosby leads the team with 50 assists and 74 points.
- Rickard Rakell leads the Pens with 31 goals.
- Alex Nedeljkovic is 12-14-5 with a .891 SV%.
CBJ Player Notes vs. Penguins
- Damon Severson has 20 points in 44 career games vs. Pittsburgh.
- Zach Werenski has 13 points in 20 games.
- James van Riemsdyk has 31 points in 55 games vs. the Pens.
Injuries
- Erik Gudbranson (upper body) is on Injured Reserve on Oct. 16 (65 Games)
- Sean Monahan (upper body) is on Injured Reserve retroactive to Jan. 7 (27 Games)
- Kevin Labanc (shoulder) is on Injured Reserve as of Feb. 21 and is out for the season (12 Games)
- Cole Sillinger is day-to-day with an upper-body injury (9 Games)
- Jake Christiansen (upper body); (3 Games)
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 293
How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on FanDuel Sports Network. Steve Mears will be on the play-by-play. The radio broadcast will be on 97.1 The Fan, with Bob McElligott behind the mic doing the play-by-play.
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