PREVIEW: Columbus returns home to take on Pittsburgh

BLUE JACKETS (37-27-3) vs. PENGUINS (36-22-9)Saturday, 7 p.m., Nationwide Arena (FOX Sports Ohio, CBJ app, FOX Sports app, 97.1 The Fan)
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If it's a joke, Matt Duchene is not laughing.
After the Blue Jackets were shut out Thursday night at Pittsbugh -- the team's second blanking in four games -- the new Columbus center couldn't help but shake his head at the team's inability to score a goal.
"We just can't get one to go," Duchene said of the team's scoring woes. "If it wasn't such an important time of year, it would be comical what's going on. Honestly. That's it. That's the element missing from our game is the finish, and if we find that, we're going to start winning games."

The inability to put goals on the board has led to the team posting a 2-4 record in the past six games since the trade deadline. After the acquisitions of Duchene and Ryan Dzingel gave the Blue Jackets an NHL-best six players with 20 goals this season, Columbus has nine goals in six games.
Call it a lack of chemistry. Call it the pressure of the postseason race. Call it some bad luck. Whatever it is, Columbus won't reach its lofty goals if some pucks don't start going in the net.
While the Blue Jackets had a lot more offensive zone time and generated more chances against Pittsburgh than they did in a shootout win over New Jersey two days prior, the team was still wanting for grade-A chances.
"We had a lot more good minutes," head coach John Tortorella said. "You give them credit, 24 blocked shots. We had I'm not sure how many shot attempts. We had the puck and did some good things with it, certainly played a lot better than the other night, but we just don't capitalize. We need something good to happen for us."
The Blue Jackets will face the same challenge Saturday night in a Pittsburgh team that has allowed just nine goals in the last five games. That has occurred since the team's top defensemen, Kris Letang and Brian Dumoulin joined veteran Olli Maatta on the injured list in the outdoor game against Philadelphia.
The Penguins have had to focus on team defense in the absence of their standouts, flocking toward the front of the net to take away shooting and passing angles. That's one reason the Pens ended up with 24 blocked shots Thursday night -- including blocks that sent Garrett Wilson, Jake Guentzel and Zach Trotman back to the locker room at times.
"That's something that we talked about when the injury bug hit us and we had some of our key guys out -- keeping the game simple, making sure we have close support for the puck and working to help each other in all three zones,"
Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said after the game
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"I do think there's a correlation there. When we keep the game simple and manage the puck the right way, the opportunities are going to present themselves."
So the challenge becomes how to beat that. Pucks to the net and traffic in front are where the Blue Jackets have to start, and Columbus has to play smart and not chase the game. From there, the team just has to stay with it and not get frustrated.
"We just have to continue to play this way and know that our goal scoring is going to come," Nick Foligno said. "When it comes, it's going to come in bunches and then guys will start feeling good. I'm not going to get down on our game today. It sucks losing. We know the situation we're in, but we can't get down on one game. We just have to continue to move forward here."
The Jackets feel at some point, the dam will break. The question is just when.
"We can't score. I mean, that's it," Duchene said. "That's all that's missing. It's absolutely insane. It's one of those things where we have to get a game where things start to bounce our way, and we'll be fine. We're doing a lot of good things."
Know the Foe
What more can be said about the Penguins, who are now four points ahead of the Blue Jackets for third place in the Metro standings? It's Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, Letang - well, not Letang, as he's still on the injured list - and Matt Murray.
Crosby scored for the second game in a row vs. Columbus, but both were empty netters, though he now has six goals and 14 points in his last six games overall. Kessel's early power-play goal vs. the Blue Jackets on Thursday was his first tally since Jan. 30. Malkin has an eight-game point streak vs. Columbus and is just three points from 1,000 in his NHL career, while the Jackets finally kept Guentzel off the scoresheet but he still has four goals in three games vs. Columbus this year.
Murray, meanwhile, has allowed two goals in his two starts this year vs. the Jackets.
3 Keys
Stay out of the box: Columbus put itself behind the eight-ball when it gave up a power-play goal 2:22 into Thursday night's game. The PK was strong the rest of the day, but there aren't goals to spare when the offense is struggling like it is.
Don't chase the game: In the same vein, Columbus was down early for the fifth time in six games when it fell into its 1-0 hole early against the Pens on Thursday. That allowed Pittsburgh to play with the defensive mind-set it wanted.
Get the crowd into it: Columbus hasn't always given fans a reason to cheer in its bigger home games this year. That has to change against the Penguins, who are sure to bring their share of black-and-gold clad supporers.
Of Note
Columbus has lost the first three games of the season series, but the Blue Jackets are 14-8-1 vs. Metro foes this season. … Josh Anderson is one point from 100 in his CBJ career. … Pittsburgh has won eight consecutive regular-season games in the series. … Columbus, which ranks third in the NHL in penalty kill (84.1 percent), has allowed a power-play goal in just five of the past 29 contests (64-of-70; 91.4 percent).
Blue Jackets Projected Lineup
Subject to change
Artemi Panarin - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Cam Atkinson
Ryan Dzingel - Matt Duchene - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Nick Foligno - Boone Jenner - Josh Anderson
Brandon Dubinsky - Alex Wennberg - Riley Nash
Zach Werenski - Seth Jones
Markus Nutivaara - David Savard
Scott Harrington - Adam McQuaid
Sergei Bobrovsky
Joonas Korpisalo
Scratched: Eric Robinson, Markus Hannikainen, Lukas Sedlak, Dean Kukan, Keith Kinkaid
Roster notes:Bobrovsky was a healthy scratch Thursday vs. Pittsburgh but will return to the ice in this one, per Tortorella. Otherwise the lineup will remain the same, the coach said.
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