COLUMBUS, OH. – The Pittsburgh Penguins (2-2-0) have lost two straight and looked bad in the process. The Columbus Blue Jackets (1-1-0) have put to rest a summer of unrest by quelling Zach Werenski trade talk and dealing Kirill Marchenko in a larger deal centered on acquiring Matthew Knies. The division rivals face off Friday at Nationwide Arena.
The puck drops just after 7 p.m. and Leo! Welsh performs the National Anthem.
The Penguins were in perpetual giveaway mode Wednesday in an ugly 5-3 loss to the Washington Capitals. Four of the six Penguins defensemen had multiple turnovers, led by Kris Letang’s four giveaways.
Washington scored on the first shift of the game when Anthony Beauvillier stole the puck from Penguins D-man Trevor van Riemsdyk at center ice for a breakaway goal. Things didn’t improve.
Bryan Rust, Nick Robertson, and Tommy Novak scored for the Penguins. Arturs Silovs was much better than his statistics suggest, stopping 22 of 27.
Coach Dan Muse will go with Sergei Murashov Friday. Muse will also stick with the lines that he used in the second half of the loss against Washington, including reuniting Bryan Rust with Sidney Crosby. Muse also said newly acquired Spencer Stastney will be a healthy scratch as he acclimates to the team.
Columbus lost 4-1 to the Utah Mammoth Saturday at Nationwide Arena. Kent Johnson scored 1:30 into the second period to bring Columbus within a 2-1 deficit, but that was as close as they got. Goalie Jet Greaves stopped 27 of 31 shots.
How to Watch
TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh
Radio: 105.9 The X
Penguins Lines
Rickard Rakell-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Egor Chinakhov-Tommy Novak-Evgeni Malkin
Hendrix Lapierre-Ben Kindel-Ville Koivunen
Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Nick Robertson
Defense
Declan Carlile-Erik Karlsson
Sam Girard-Kaedan Korczak
Trevor van Riemsdyk-Kris Letang
Goalie: Sergei Murashov
Blue Jackets projected lines
Matthew Knies-Adam Fantilli-Kent Johnson
Valeri Nichushkin-Sean Monahan-Dmitri Voronkov
Cole Sillinger-Charlie Coyle-Mathieu Olivier
Ryan Lomberg-Danton Heinen-Conor Garland
Defense
Zach Werenski-Damon Severson
Carson Soucy-Denton Mateychuk
Emil Andrae-Erik Gudbranson
Goalies: Cam Talbot
Special Teams
Penguins power play: 30.8% (7th). Penguins penalty kill: 90% (8th).
Blue Jackets power play: 40% (T-1). Blue Jackets penalty kill: 66.7% (T-25).
Penguins Game Notes
The Penguins have points in 19 of their last 20 games (14-1-5) against the Blue
Jackets dating back to Dec. 12, 2019. The Penguins also have points in eight of their last nine visits to Nationwide Arena (6-1-2) dating back to Jan. 21, 2022.
Declan Carlile has four points (2-2-4) through his first four games, marking a new single-season career high and matching his career goals, assists, and points totals.
Tommy Novak is riding an active four-game point streak 1-4-5) against the
Columbus Blue Jackets. Overall, he has 10 points (3-7-10) in nine career games
against them.
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