The Blue Jackets kicked off the eight-game preseason slate for 2022 with a 3-2 overtime loss against the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena in downtown Pittsburgh.
Game in a Paragraph
After a scoreless first period, Columbus used a pair of power-play goals to take a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes in the exhibition lidlifter. After an even first two periods, Pittsburgh pushed for the tying goal in the latter half of the third and finally got it in the final minute. Jason Zucker then won it for the Penguins 1:58 into the overtime period.
CBJ Standouts
- James Neal returned to the place he scored 89 goals in 199 games over four seasons and tallied the opening goal of the game.
- Defenseman Nick Blankenburg scored well on the power play.
- The Columbus goalies were solid, with Pavel Cajan stopping 12 of 13 shots against while playing the opening half of the game. Nolan Lalonde came in for the second half and stopped 19 of 21 shots he saw.
Quick Recap
There wasn’t much to a first period that was pretty even, with Pittsburgh having the lone power play and a 10-8 edge in shots on goal. Cajan was solid throughout in a number of netfront scrambles, and also got a bit lucky when Sam Poulin’s rebound attempt on the power play hit the outside of the post and caromed away harmlessly.
Things picked up in the second period and did so early as the Jackets got on the board just 3:25 into the period with Neal’s goal. Columbus won a faceoff on the power play and Jack Roslovic took the puck behind the net, then reversed it back to the post where Neal was there to tap it easily past goalie Casey DeSmith, who went to the other post. Jon Lizotte then tied the score for Pittsburgh three minutes later with a transition shot that got by Cajan, but Blankenburg’s seeing-eye shot trickled through goalie Filip Lindberg and across the line to make it 1-1 with 7:33 to go in the frame. .
In the third, Pittsburgh looked as though it would surely get the tying goal just past the midway point of the frame, but Lalonde made an incredible save on a 2-on-0 as he moved left to right to get the pad on Jason Zucker’s. Shot off a pass from Kasperi Kapanen. Finally, with Lindberg pulled for an extra attacker, the Pens tied it with 54.1 seconds to go when Poulin passed the puck from behind the net to Corey Andonovski for a quick finish past Lalonde.
Columbus had the early momentum in overtime but the Penguins eventually moved things back down to the CBJ end of the ice and exhausted the Blue Jackets, with Lalonde standing tall until Zucker fought his way to the net and flipped the puck past the Jackets goalie. winner.
Notable
Pittsbrugh finished with a 34-27 edge in shots on goal. … Blankenburg’s one regular-season goal in seven games last year also came on the power play. … Neal played for Pittsburgh from 2011-14, notching a career-high 40 goals in 2011-12. … He led Columbus with six shots on goal and 11 shot attempts. … Defenseman Ben Harpur, who is in the CBJ camp on a tryout offer after having played 156 games in six NHL seasons with Ottawa and Nashville, left the game after being injured during a fight with Jamie Devane in the third. … Pittsburgh is giving such veterans as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Jeff Carter the day off.
Roster Report
Here is a link to the roster the Blue Jackets used for the gamewith Columbus sending more of an inexperienced roster to the Steel City.
Up next
Columbus won’t have to wait long to see Pittsburgh again, as 20 different Blue Jackets and Penguins will meet at 7 pm at Nationwide Arena.
.