The Blue Jackets traveled to Pittsburgh for their fifth of seven preseason games on Saturday night, dropping a 4-1 final to the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.
Game in a Paragraph
In what amounted in many ways to a testimonial contest for retiring NHL legend and three-time Stanley Cup winner Marc-Andre Fleury, a young Blue Jackets lineup hung tough before ending up on the losing end of things. Columbus led 1-0 after the first, but Pittsburgh scored twice in the second and third frames to finish off the win. The 40-year-old Fleury stopped all eight shots he faced in the third period – much to the delight of the home fans – in his goodbye to the Steel City.
CBJ Standouts
- Luca Del Bel Belluz notched his second preseason goal in three games, tallying in the first period for Columbus. He added a goal against Fleury in the exhibition shootout afterward.
- Yegor Chinakhov had an assist on the goal, giving him three points in three preseason contests.
- Goalie Elvis Merzlikins made 32 saves on 35 shots against and denied all three Penguins in the shootout.
Quote of the Game
Del Bel Belluz: “It could go down as maybe the last goal ever on Fleury. I guess I could say I have it. It’s definitely a moment I’ll never forget. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a building that loud before. It was really electric. It was cool. I think maybe I’ll get booed every time I come here now, I don’t know.”
How It Happened
A Pittsburgh roster featuring most of its top players got off to a strong start and created some chances, the best a redirection at the post by first-round pick Ben Kindel, but Merzlikins stood strong and stopped all 10 shots on goal in the opening period. That gave the Blue Jackets time go get into the game, and they took advantage with 3:52 left in the period with Del Bel Belluz’s goal. Corson Ceulemans started the play with a good first pass, Chinakhov received it and spun off the wall with speed, then centered across the crease to Del Bel Belluz for the stuff home past goalie Sergei Murashov. Columbus nearly added another late in the period, but Cole Sillinger hit the post after a Pittsburgh turnover.
Columbus had some good looks to add to its lead early in the second period, but Murashov denied Mathieu Olivier shorthanded and Sillinger on a power play. Pittsburgh then scored a pair of goals, making it 1-1 when Sidney Crosby entered the zone with speed and flipped a shot into the top corner past Merzlikins at 5:20 and then taking the lead when Rickard Rakell put home a power-play rebound with just two seconds left in the period. Merzlikins made some excellent stops in the period including denying Rakell twice on an earlier power play and Anthony Mantha on a late one-on-one chance.
Fleury came in for Murashov in the third period, with the crowd serenading him with chants throughout the last 20 minutes. Sillinger tested Fleury with a chance early only to see him snag it with the glove, and though the Jackets continued to push throughout the first half of the frame, they couldn’t get a goal. Pittsburgh made it 3-1 with 11:04 to go when Ville Koivunen intercepted a pass by Merzlikins and put it in the vacated net, and Rakell scored an empty-net goal with 2:28 to set the final score.
There was a shootout following play, with Del Bel Belluz scoring the only goal after a nice deke on what should be the final shot of Fleury’s NHL career.
Notable
Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang all shot for Pittsburgh in the shootout and couldn’t beat Merzlikins, while Fleury – the NHL’s all-time leader in goalie wins in the skills competition – stopped Chinakhov and Sillinger. ... Murashov denied 12 of 13 CBJ shots in his two periods of play. ... Del Bel Belluz and Chinakhov are now tied with Dmitri Voronkov for the CBJ preseason scoring lead with three points.
Roster Report
Here is the roster the Blue Jackets used for the contest. The game marked the preseason debut of Erik Gudbranson and was the fourth of five games for James Malatesta, Mikael Pyyhtia, Jake Christiansen and Daemon Hunt.
Up Next
The Blue Jackets will have their final home preseason game Tuesday when they welcome the Washington Capitals to Nationwide Arena. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m., with the game being shown on FanDuel Sports Network.
