Welcome to the Blue Jackets season the rest of us know, Rick Bowness.
After watching his new team take care of two downtrodden Western Conference teams on home ice at Nationwide Arena, the Jackets’ head coach has now experienced what his predecessor, Dean Evason, felt far too often before he was replaced along with assistant Steve McCarthy.
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Clinging to a one-goal lead against the Pittsburgh Penguins with time running out in the third period Jan. 17 at PPG Paints Arena, the Jackets allowed a tying goal by Sidney Crosby with 1:01 left in regulation to force a wild 3-on-3 overtime followed by a shootout Charlie Coyle won for Columbus in the fourth round.
Mirroring a 5-4 OT win over the Blue Jackets on Jan. 5 at Nationwide Arena, Crosby tied it 3-3 with 1:01 left by redirecting a shot/pass from Kris Letang on a play they’ve completed numerous times for the Penguins (22-14-11), often at the behest of the Blue Jackets (22-19-7).
Jan 17, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Kirill Marchenko (86) celebrates a goal with center Cole Sillinger (4) and defenseman Damon Severson (78) after scoring on Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Arturs Silovs (37) during the second period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Philip G. Pavely-Imagn Images
“They made a great play,” Bowness told reporters who covered the game in Pittsburgh. “They’ve got elite players over there, and they know how to win. So, give them credit. They made a good play. Did we cover that well? No. No, we’re supposed to have two (defensemen) down by the net and we didn’t, but those are the things that we have to keep harping on and keep working on.”
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The Blue Jackets’ 4-3 shootout win was their fourth win in a row and second via shootout this season after losing a late lead to the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena. The Penguins also overcame deficits in third periods of all four games in the season series, stealing points each time.
Overtime was a non-stop thrill ride thanks to Merzlikins, who made six OT saves among his 29 stops to force a shootout. At the other end, Penguins goalie Arturs Silovs made two huge stops to keep the game going.
Kent Johnson opened the shootout with a goal to give the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead, but Silovs then stopped Adam Fantilli and Kirill Marchenko on the next two Columbus attempts. Yegor Chinakhhov, whom the Blue Jackets recently traded to Pittsburgh, beat Merzlikins in the top of the third round to tie it 1-1.
Merzlikins stopped Bryan Rust in the top of the fourth, setting up Coyle’s winner in the bottom half.
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Zach Aston-Reese, Kirill Marchenko and Danton Heinen scored the first three goals for the Jackets. Connor Clifton and Rickard Rakell scored the first two goals for the Penguins, who started Arturs Silovs (22 saves) in a matchup of Latvian goalies who’ll represent their country at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina, Italy.
Aston-Reese, whose NHL career began in Pittsburgh, was the first former Penguins player to score for the Blue Jackets. His first goal of the season made it 1-0 just 2:42 into the game, but that was the extent of the Jacket’s success in the first period.
Jan 17, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin (71) skates near Columbus Blue Jackets Ivan Provorov (9) during the first period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Philip G. Pavely-Imagn Images
The Penguins quickly took control of the puck and dominated the remainder of the period, building a 10-4 edge in shots and 2-1 lead on back-to-back goals by Clifton and Rakell. It could’ve been a bigger lead, but Merzlikins made several key stops to thwart Pittsburgh scoring chances.
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It was a different story in the second, which the Blue Jackets controlled with a 13-8 edge in shots. They also reclaimed the lead, 3-2, with goals by Marchenko and Heinen, who scored the Jackets’ second goal by a former Penguin. That’s how it stayed to start the third, giving the Blue Jackets a lead to start a third period with a lead over Pittsburgh for the fourth time in four games.
The Blue Jackets, who have four players out with injuries, played most of the game with just five defensemen after losing Dante Fabbro to a lower-body injury with 8:03 left in the first period. Fabbro, who was paired with Zach Werenski on the top pairing, appeared to sustain the injury while taking a hit from Crosby on his last shift.
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets top Pittsburgh Penguins in exciting shootout win