Pens Faceoff: Penguins Embark on a Gritty Battle with Blue Jackets

The Pittsburgh Penguins are lacing up their skates for another road trip. Next stop? A pit stop in Columbus, where they’ll square off with the Blue Jackets.

The Jackets, with a shaky 3-4-1 record at home, are up against the Pens, who’ve been tearing it up with a 4-2-0 record on the road. Fresh off their hat trick of wins in California, the Pens are flying high. It’s a classic tale of hot versus not – our Pens are on a four-game hot streak, while the Jackets have hit a rough patch, losing their last five. This game’s shaping up to be a real test of whether the Pens can keep their momentum going with some tough games ahead.

Pens Key to Win: Consistency Above All Else

Okay, let’s face it: we’re riding high on a 4-game winning streak, which is great, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We’re heading into a rough patch where consistency is going to be the name of the game – yeah, I know, groundbreaking insight, right? If the Penguins are serious about hoisting the cup in 2023, they’ve got to clinch the wins that are up for grabs.

Not to throw shade at the Blue Jackets, but they’re not exactly setting the ice on fire this season, losing 5 straight. Mix in the rivalry, and what do you get? A classic trap game waiting to happen. Our top six need to keep up their end of the bargain as they’ve been, and defensively, we’ve got to step up our game to back Tristan Jarry between the pipes. And hey, a little something from the bottom six wouldn’t hurt to tip the scales in our favor.

Pittsburgh Penguins Projected Lineup

Jake Guentzel – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust
Reilly Smith – Evgeni Malkin – Rickard Rakell
Drew O’Connor – Lars Eller – Radim Zohorna
Matthew Nieto – Noel Acciari – Vinnie Hinostroza

Defensive Pairings:

Ryan Graves – Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson – Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea – Chad Ruhwedel

Goalies:

Tristan Jarry
Magnus Hellberg

Columbus Blue Jackets Projected Lineup

Yegor Chinakhov – Boone Jenner – Patrik Laine
Dmitri Voronkov – Adam Fantilli – Kirill Marchenko
Johnny Gaudreau – Cole Sillinger – Emil Bemstrom
Alexandre Texier – Sean Kuraly – Justin Danforth

Defensive Pairings:

Zach Werenski – Erik Gudbranson
Ivan Provorov – Damon Severson
Adam Boqvist – Jake Bean

Goalies:

Elvis Merzlikins
Spencer Martin

How to Stream the Pittsburgh Penguins Game?

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Lineup Projections courtesy of Daily Faceoff.

All stats courtesy of Hockey-Reference.