Gameday Preview: Blue Jackets vs. Penguins

The Details

BLUE JACKETS vs. PENGUINS
GAME INFO
COLUMBUS: 24-48-8, 8th in Metropolitan
PITTSBURGH: 40-31-10, 5th in Metropolitan
NATIONWIDE ARENA, 7 p.m. ET
SINGLE-GAME TICKETS
BROADCAST INFO
TV:
Bally Sports Ohio
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AUDIO:
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BY THE NUMBERS
CBJ Player Statistics
Penguins Player Statistics
NHL Standings

What They're Saying

Carson Meyer got to Philadelphia on Tuesday morning along with a cadre of Blue Jackets, err, Monsters, err, Clevebus Monsterjackets.
Call them what you will, but there has been a group of players heading back and forth between Cleveland and Columbus the past two weeks, caught in a weird dual reality. In Cleveland, the Monsters are fighting for their playoff lives and have been in a tooth and nail battle to make it to the AHL playoffs.
That has been fun and intense, everyone agrees, but another ridiculous run of injuries in Columbus has prompted batches of recalls with the ultimate promise -- NHL playing time.
It hasn't been easy -- there's been a lot of travel and not a lot of sleep at times -- but a number of players have taken part in the shuttle back and forth, alternately battling for playoff positioning in Cleveland and filling out a lineup for Columbus.
"Yeah, it's a little different than usual for sure, but obviously we understand the situation," Meyer said. "Columbus is a bit shorthanded with injuries, and Cleveland, we need some wins to get into the playoffs. That's just the reality of it. It's always an exciting opportunity to play in the NHL and showcase what we can do, and when we go back, we're obviously in some very fun, meaningful games as well. Both are fun, so it's an exciting time of year."
Those players did their part Tuesday night in an overtime loss at Philadelphia. In a game in which captain Boone Jenner was a late scratch, Meyer, Jake Christiansen and Trey Fix-Wolansky all had points while Josh Dunne and David Jiricek played strong games.
"We got some big contributions from those guys," head coach Brad Larsen said. "It's a blender tonight. We had guys playing in different positions, a lot of different combinations. It just was what it was."
It will be a largely different group of recalls this time, though, as Cleveland faces three critical games this weekend to end the season. Forwards Mikael Pyyhtia and Tyler Angle as well as defensemen Stanislav Svozil and Samuel Knazko have been recalled to make NHL debuts, while Joona Luoto and Billy Sweezey have returned as well.

Know The Foe: Pittsburgh Penguins

Head coach:Mike Sullivan (Eighth season)
Season Stats:Goals per game: 3.20 (16th) | Scoring defense: 3.21 (19th) | PP: 21.2 percent (17th) | PK: 79.2 percent (16th)
The narrative:For the first time since 2005-06, Sidney Crosby's rookie season, the Penguins are on the outside looking in to the playoff mix. The New York Islanders' win last night over Montreal officially ended the Penguins' NHL-best run of consecutive postseason appearances at 16, and considering the advanced ages of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, big questions loom in the Steel City about where the Penguins go from here.
2022-23 leaders:Those players lead the way again, and in fact, 28-year-old Jake Guentzel is the youngest player among the Pens' top 10 scorers this season, perhaps a telltale sign Pittsburgh was in trouble in a league getting younger and faster by the day.
Crosby, of course, continues to be a marvel, as even at age 35 he's put together a vintage Crosby season that includes a 33-58-91 line while playing in every game. Malkin, 36, is next in scoring with 27 goals among his 83 points, while Guentzel adds a team-best 35 goals to go with 37 assists. Rickard Rakell (28-31-59), Jason Zucker (27-21-48) and Bryan Rust (20-26-46) add depth scoring.
In net, the duo of Tristan Jarry (24-13-6/2.90/.909) and Casey DeSmith (15-16-4/3.17/.905) has posted inconsistent showings throughout the season.
What's new:The Penguins blew an opportunity to get on the right side of the playoff line Tuesday, falling by a 5-2 score at home to Chicago. It was just the latest moment in which this veteran-laden team couldn't hit the accelerator when it needed to, as the Pens are 6-9-0 in their last 15 games. The trade deadline did little to help, as marquee addition Mikael Granlund has one goal and five points in 20 games, while Nick Bonino and Dmitry Kulikov have played just a combined eight games because of injury.
Trending:It hasn't been a great season for the Penguins, but the team has been able to continue its dominance of the Blue Jackets by winning all three previous games in the season series, though Columbus did get a point in its last trip to the Steel City. In all, the Pens have won eight in a row in the series and 16 of the past 18.
Former CBJ: At age 38, Jeff Carter has settled into a bottom-six role for Pittsburgh, posting 13 goals and 29 points in 78 games.

3 Keys to the Game

Who wants it more? These are two teams who aren't playing for playoff positioning, so motivation levels could be interesting to watch, especially with a proud but disappointed group of Penguins being eliminated from playoff contention last night.
Happy debuts: The Blue Jackets likely will throw four players into the NHL fire, so getting them comfortable will be key.
Stay with it: As we saw Tuesday night, the hockey at this point of the season can be a bit unpredictable, but the Jackets have to be able to handle those shifts in momentum.

3 Stats to Know

• Kirill Marchenko has 21 goals and four assists on the season, making him the only CBJ player in history to score at least 15 times in a season with less than 10 assists. Only one player in the NHL's modern era -- Florida's Brandon Pirri, with 22-2-24 in 2014-15 -- has finished a season with at least 20 goals and only four assists, per Hockey Reference.
• The Blue Jackets got multiple firsts on Tuesday night -- Sean Kuraly notched his first-ever power-play goal in his 416th NHL game; Trey Fix-Wolansky had his first goal of the season while Carson Meyer notched his first assist; and Tim Berni had his first assist of his NHL career.
• Milestone watch: Four players recalled Wednesday -- Pyyhtia, Angle, Svozil and Knazko -- are yet to play NHL games and are expected make their debuts today. So far, seven Jackets have already done so this season. They'll push the all-time number of players to wear the CBJ sweater to 333. … Marchenko passed Pierre-Luc Dubois' CBJ rookie record with his 21st goal of the season April 2. … Goalie Michael Hutchinson played in his 150th career game Saturday.

Who's Hot

Johnny Gaudreau has 20 multipoint games on the season and is the fourth player in team history with at least 50 assists in a season, joining Panarin (twice), Ray Whitney and Jakub Voracek. He has posted 4-13-17 in his last 16 games … Liam Foudy has seven goals in 25 games since netting his first NHL tally. … Jack Roslovic has eight points (4-4-8) in the last nine games … Marchenko's 21 goals are third in the league among rookie goal scorers, one behind Wyatt Johnston of Dallas and three behind Matty Beniers of Seattle. … Kent Johnson's 16-24-40 line places him in the top 10 in team history among rookies in goals (tied for fourth), assists (fourth) and points (third). He ranks sixth in the NHL in goals and is fourth in points among rookies. … Columbus is first in the NHL in goals among rookies with 54 and second to Montreal in points with 115. All are franchise records. … Andrew Peeke, who ranks third in the NHL in blocked shots with 194, has surpassed Ryan Murray (171 in 2015-16) for the most blocked shots in a single season in club history (since 2005-06).

This Day in CBJ History

April 13, 2006: Duvie Westcott sets a franchise record with 31 penalty minutes in a game -- all in the second period -- of a 4-1 win over St. Louis in Nationwide Arena.
April 13, 2013: Mark Letestu and Cam Atkinson score in a shootout as the Blue Jackets post a 3-2 victory at Minnesota to kick off a six-game road trip with Columbus battling for a playoff spot. The win is the Jackets' third in a row and sixth in the last eight games.
April 13, 2022: Kent Johnson and Nick Blankenburg make their CBJ and NHL debuts and Zach Werenski plays in his 400th NHL game as the Blue Jackets post a 5-1 victory over Montreal at Nationwide Arena.

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)
Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Kuraly - Kirill Marchenko
Kent Johnson - Jack Roslovic - Liam Foudy
Joona Luoto - Hunter McKown - Emil Bemstrom
Tyler Angle - Mikael Pyythia
Gavin Bayreuther - Andrew Peeke
Tim Berni - Adam Boqvist
Stanislav Svozil - Billy Sweezey
Samuel Knazko
Michael Hutchinson
Jon Gillies
Scratches:Boone Jenner (upper body); Eric Robinson (upper body); Lane Pederson (upper body); Patrik Laine (triceps strain); Nick Blankenburg (ankle); Mathieu Olivier (lower leg bone bruise); Erik Gudbranson (separated shoulder); Elvis Merzlikins (lower body)
Injured reserve:Jake Bean (shoulder); Zach Werenski (shoulder surgery); Justin Danforth (shoulder)
Roster Report: The Blue Jackets are expected to skate 11 forwards and seven defensemen tonight. Jenner and Robinson are out as well, so Angle, Luoto, Pyyhtia, Sweezey and Knazko were summoned from Cleveland while Svozil was added at the conclusion of of his season with Regina of the WHL.