Scratches: Miles Wood (upper body), Jake Christiansen
Injured reserve/Non-Roster: None
Roster Report: The Blue Jackets won’t have a morning skate, so any changes to the lineup will be discussed pregame by Evason, but it seems likely Merzlikins gets the start in the second half of the back-to-back.
This Day in CBJ History
Oct. 25, 2007: Pascal Leclaire earns his fourth shutout in the first nine games, stopping all 36 shots in a 3-0 win vs. St. Louis at Nationwide Arena. Jared Boll, Rick Nash and Jiri Novotny score in the CBJ victory.
The Numbers Game
Kirill Marchenko saw a five-game point streak (5-2-7) end Friday night. His tally Saturday vs. Tampa Bay moved him into 10th place alone in Blue Jackets franchise history with 80 goals. … Dmitri Voronkov has points in six of seven games this season (3-4-7). … Denton Mateychuk has scored in two straight games while Kent Johnson has goals in two of the last three. … The Blue Jackets have won 52.2 percent of faceoffs this season, good for 10th in the NHL. … With a goal and assist at Dallas on Tuesday, Boone Jenner moved into second place in CBJ history with 82 career multipoint games. … The Blue Jackets have outscored opponents 14-9 at 5-on-5 thus far. … Charlie Coyle is one assist shy of 300 in his NHL career, while Zach Aston-Reese is one point shy of 100 and Dante Fabbro is two points shy of 100. Sean Monahan is three points from 600 in his career
Know The Foe: Pittsburgh Penguins
Head coach: Dan Muse (First season)
Team stats: Goals per game: 3.50 (T-7th) | Scoring defense: 2.38 (T-4th) | PP: 33.3 percent (1st) | PK: 76.0 percent (17th)
The narrative: The season began with talk that the Penguins were fully embracing a rebuild this season, with longtime head coach Mike Sullivan off to New York and such veterans as Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell and Erik Karlsson on the theoretical trading block. But before you could say Gavin McKenna, the Penguins got off to a red-hot start to the season under Muse, winning six of the first eight games including four in a row heading into tonight. Time will tell if the Penguins can make a first playoff appearance since 2021-22, but there’s no faulting the team’s start out of the gate.
Scoring leaders: And as you might expect, two familiar names – Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin – have paced the Penguins in the early going. No matter that Malkin is 39 and Crosby 38, as the two ageless wonders have propelled the Pens; Malkin leads the team with 12 points (two goals, 10 assists), while Crosby has posted a 6-5-11 line. Crosby is tied for sixth in the NHL in goals, while Malkin is tied for fourth in assists and sixth in points. Offseason additions Justin Brazeau (5-3-8) and Anthony Mantha (3-3-6) have pulled their weight, while Rakell has three goals among eight points.
In net: Perhaps the biggest factor in the Pens’ strong start has been goaltending, as Pittsburgh struggled getting stops a year ago. Tristan Jarry (3-1-0, 2.52 GAA, .921 SV%) and Arturs Silovs (3-1-0, 2.25, .919) have each made four starts and performed well in the early going.
What’s new: The Penguins had a fair amount of roster shakeup in the offseason, and such additions as Brazeau, Silovs and defensemen Parker Wotherspoon and Caleb Jones have contributed in the early going. Add in a dose of youth – 2024 second-round pick Harrison Brunicke and 2025 first-rounder Ben Kindel didn’t just make the opening roster but have impressed – and Pittsburgh has found a mix that works in the early going.
Trending: The Blue Jackets were 2-1-0 against the Pens a season ago and broke the longstanding hex in the Steel City, as their 4-3 shootout win Jan. 7 was the franchise’s first there since 2015. The Pens responded with a 6-3 win in Pittsburgh on March 21.
Former CBJ: None
