PITTSBURGH — The Columbus Blue Jackets staged a comeback against the Pittsburgh Penguins, securing a 4-3 victory during a shootout on Tuesday night thanks to goals from Kirill Marchenko and Kent Johnson.
Elvis Merzlikins had a solid night, recording 20 saves and successfully stopping attempts from Bryan Rust and Sidney Crosby in the shootout. The Blue Jackets showed resilience, erasing a 3-1 deficit in the third period.
Adam Fantilli contributed significantly by scoring a power-play goal in the final period, while Dmitri Voronkov added two more to his tally, bringing his score to nine goals over the past seven games. Columbus has been effective with the man advantage recently, notching goals in 12 of their last 15 matches. Unfortunately, Sean Monahan left the game due to an upper-body injury.
On the other side, Rickard Rakell scored two goals for Pittsburgh, and Michael Bunting achieved a personal best with his eighth power-play goal this season. Crosby assisted on two goals, making history as the NHL’s all-time leader in faceoff victories since the league began recording those statistics in 1997.
However, the Penguins faced a setback when Evgeni Malkin was scratched from the lineup with an upper-body injury. This marked the first game he has missed since the 2021-22 season, and he is currently listed as day-to-day. Tristan Jarry stepped in as the goalie for Pittsburgh, making 26 saves during the match.
**Takeaways:** The Blue Jackets have been on a roll lately, securing victories in three out of their last four games and winning six of their past nine. They have consistently scored at least four goals in their successful outings.
In contrast, the Penguins have hit a rough patch, suffering their fourth consecutive defeat. They have struggled recently, losing six of their last eight games after a strong stretch of winning eight out of their eleven earlier games.
**Key moment:** The game was tied thanks to Fantilli, who redirected Johnson’s pass from the slot past Jarry with just 2:36 remaining in regulation.
**Key stat:** With this victory, Columbus ended a long 15-game winless streak in Pittsburgh, dating back to December 21, 2015. Since the 2000-2001 season, the Blue Jackets have managed to win only five times in Pittsburgh.
**Up next:** Both teams are set to play at home on Thursday, with Columbus taking on Seattle and Pittsburgh facing off against Connor McDavid and the Oilers.
