Game Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Columbus Blue Jackets 10/22/2022 – Lines, how to watch

Who: Pittsburgh Penguins (3-0-1, 1st place Metropolitan Division) @ Columbus Blue Jackets (2-3-0, 8th place Metropolitan Division)

When: 7:00 p.m. East

how to watch: AT&T Sportsnet in Pittsburgh, ESPN+ elsewhere (Bally Sports Ohio for away team coverage)

enemy track: After starting the season with three straight regular losses during which their weak defense conceded 14 goals, the Blue Jackets bounced back and clinched their first two wins of the 2022-23 season in dramatic fashion at home.

After winning a back-and-forth battle with the winless Canucks in overtime on Tuesday, the Jackets turned a 3-1 third-half deficit against the Predators on Thursday into a 5-3 win with a crucial goal with less than two minutes left in regulation.

Pins way ahead: This is the first competition of a five-game tour of the Western Conference, one of the longest road trips of the season. The team will stop in Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver and Seattle before heading home. So Pens fans should enjoy the 7pm final start time in October and prepare for some late nights.

season series: Penguins will see the Blue Jackets again when they arrive at PPG Paints Arena on December 6th. Last season, the Penguins defeated Columbus 4-0 in the Season Series.

Meet the Blue Jackets

SB Nation counterpart: The cannon

Possible lines

FORWARD

Gustav Nyquist – Boone Jenner – Johnny Gaudreau

Kent Johnson, Cole Sillinger, Jakub Voracek

Yegor Chinakhov – Jack Roslovic – Justin Danforth

Eric Robinson – Sean Kuraly – Mathieu Olivier

DEFENDER

Zach Werenski-Nick Blankenburg

Vladislav GavrikovAndrew Peeke

Jake BeanErik Gudbranson

Goalkeeper: Elvis Merzlikins or Daniil Tarasov

Scratch: Liam Foudy (injury), Adam Boqvist

IR: Alexandre Texier (out for the season), Patrik Laine (elbow), Joonas Korpisalo (recovering from hip surgery)

statistics

above hockeydb

• It’s no coincidence that the Blue Jackets’ first two wins of the season coincided with Johnny Gaudreau’s heating up. The winger, who has three goals in his last two games, is doing his best to remind fans why he was the most exciting free agency pickup of 2022.

• The Blue Jackets are still waiting for Joonas Korpisalo to recover from his hip surgery. Meanwhile, Elvis Merzlikins will be joined by rookie Daniil Tarasov, who had just three NHL starts prior to this season.

In two games, Tarasov has conceded nine goals and has not yet achieved a win. He could be on deck today and have another chance to win his first NHL W as Merzlikins started in competitions on both Tuesday and Thursday.

• This side is missing Patrik Laine who scored 26 goals for them last season. After scoring the Blue Jackets’ first goal of the 2022-23 season, Laine sprained his elbow in Columbus’ season opener and will be injured for three to four weeks.
• The Blue Jackets found an unlikely hero in their comeback win over the Predators in Nick Blankenburg, the rookie defenseman who scored the winning goal with 1:23 on the clock. He may only have had seven NHL games under his belt this season, but he’s looked shockingly dominating in his Blue Jackets appearances so far.
• Columbus’ bottom line-up — consisting of former Penguin Erik Gudbranson alongside Jake Bean — is a weak point for the Blue Jackets. The Penguins may be able to capitalize on that if they have to make do with a potentially limited forward line-up. More on that below…

And now for the pens…

Possible lines of play

Forward

Danton Heinen-Sidney Crosby-Rickard Rakell

Jason Zucker Evgeni Malkin Bryan Rust

Brock McGinn, Jeff Carter, Kasperi Kapanen

Ryan PoehlingJosh Archibald

defense

Brian Dumoulin, Kris Letang

Jeff PetryMarcus Pettersson

PO Joseph – Jan Rutta

Chad Ruhwedel

Goalkeeper: Tristan Jarry Casey DeSmith

Scratch: Teddy Blueger (everyday injuries), Chad Ruhwedel

• These projected lines are based on Friday’s practice, which included Jake Guentzel absent and Teddy Blueger wearing a non-contact jersey.
• If Blueger, still listed as a day-to-day, can play on Saturday, he would center the fourth row with Poehling and Archibald flanking. If not, Chad Ruhwedel will likely make his first appearance this season as the Penguins’ backup defenseman. The offensive would then have to make do with 11 strikers.
• Jake Guentzel’s status is also up in the air as he recovers from an “upper body injury,” also known as a friendly fire slap, on Thursday. He will be with the team on this road trip. If he doesn’t play on Saturday, we could be watching a rare combination of Sidney Crosby and Danton Heinen.

• We’ve got our first production streak of the campaign – Malkin hasn’t gone a single game without a point this season and is 3-2-5 in four games.
• The Penguins are still looking for their first away win of the season. Will they finally earn it in Columbus?