Pittsburgh Penguins @ Columbus Blue Jackets: 11/14/23 Game Recap

The game would start as a stereotypical Penguins game, with a Sidney Crosby goal at 4:10. The Blue Jackets would be down 1-0, but only for a short time. With goal number 4 at 10:29, Kirill Marchenko would knot this game like a pretzel at 1-1. Better still, Ivan Proverov has entered the double digits in the assist category on this goal with 10! Then, with seconds left, Yegor Chinakhov would add his first goal of the season into the scoring mi at 19:28. A huge welcome back to him as this was a long time coming. He started preseason with an injury, then spent some time in Cleveland before getting the call to Columbus. Way to go, 59! Speaking of injuries, while working through one currently, Erik Gudbranson would add his sixth assist on this Chinakhov goal, while Zach Werenski matches the number he wears, eight. The final seconds would tick away, and the Blue Jackets would go from a 1-0 deficit to a 2-1 lead in twenty minutes!   

In period 2, though, as in typical Penguins game fashion, they would manage to come back and score a tying goal. This would happen at 7:04 with a goal from Jake Guentzel. This would be the only goal of these twenty minutes, so we'd go into the final twenty minutes with a fresh game at 2-2.  

It is worth mentioning that the home team did lose Kirill Marchenko for a time in period 2, but he would be out with the team from the start of this final regulation period. So, that's a good sign. At 8:40, the Penguins would find their lead again with a goal from Erik Karlsson. Then, a few minutes later, at 11:45, Alexander Texier would allow the Blue Jackets to tie this game a third time tonight. He had help from Sean Kuraly, who had his first assist this season on his goal, and Justin Danforth, who is now up to three. Without fail, though, Sidney Crosby would work his magic again tonight at 14:28, and his Penguins would pull ahead 4-3. With minutes left, we would remove Elvis Merzzlikins from our net, and Sidney Crosby would pop in this third tonight. I respect his skill so much (when he's playing any of the other 30 NHL Teams!) The Penguins' fifth and final goal tonight would come at 19:22. 5-2 would be the final score tonight in Nationwide. Again, seeing the team fight and rally from a deficit is excellent. Now, they have to figure out how to complete the win instead of narrowly losing or forcing overtime. It will come. 

With the 42 total Penguins shots that made it to Elvis Merzlikins, he stopped 38. This gave him a .905% this evening in Nationwide Arena. 

Something that did come tonight that I must highlight is Zach Werenski's franchise accomplishment! He had his eighth assist tonight of the season on Yegor Chinakhov's goal in period 1. This is hu e because he now has 174, one more than former Blue Jacket Seth Jones. Jones has now been dethroned as the leader in assists for the Columbus Blue Jackets. It's been a long time coming for Werenski, and I, for one, can't wait to see him add more!     

Our next game will b  very special. It is 2023 Hockey Fights Cancer night on November 16th. We will play the Arizona Coyotes that evening at 7:00 p.m. and I can't wait to see this team highlight pediatric cancer research. 

Go CBJ!