Game Preview: Penguins, Blue Jackets Meet Up In First Annual Installment Of Division Rivalry

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
7-6-0 (14 pts; .538%) ROSTER SCHEDULE
7:00 P.M. – TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14 NATIONWIDE ARENA COLUMBUS, OH
TELEVISION: Bally Sports Ohio ESPN+ Power Play
ODDS & PROJECTIONS:
ODDS OF CBJ WIN PER MONEYPUCK: 36%
TIPICO SPORTSBOOK: CBJ +155

After another extra-time loss, the Columbus Blue Jackets are back at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday night for their first game of the season against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Blue Jackets came up short in a shootout Sunday night against the New York Rangers, their second one-goal loss in as many days. Overall, Columbus has lost five in a row and nine of their last ten.

When they hit the ice against Sidney Crosby and company, the Blue Jackets will do so without Jack Roslovic. The club announced Monday that he fractured his ankle in Sunday's game and will miss the next four-to-six weeks. 

Here's what else to know in advance of puck-drop: 

TALKING POINTS: PIT

• The Penguins had a pedestrian start to the season but have been on fire in the month of November. They're 4-0-0 and have outscored the opposition 20-5, including a pair of shutouts. The asterisk here would be that ten of those 20 goals came in a 10-2 rout of the San Jose Sharks. Nonetheless, Pittsburgh enters Columbus on a heater.
   
• The big offseason acquisition of Erik Karlsson has been very much worth it for the Pens. He's been paired with Marcus Pettersson and the two have allowed an average of 1.29 goals per 60 minutes thus far. That ranks 5th amongst defensive pairings with 120+ minutes together. Additionally, 78% of the goals scored in 5-on-5 when they're on the ice have been for Pittsburgh, a number that also leads the league with the same minute qualifier. 
   
• Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin may be a combined 73 years old, but they've also combined for 15 goals and 16 assists through 13 games. No doubt that their time is coming, but reports of a 2023-24 demise may have been a bit premature.

TALKING POINTS: CBJ

• There are plenty of things to not write home about when it comes to this team, but let's start with a bright spot: the Blue Jackets have killed off 21 consecutive penalties over eight games, both of which are figures that the club hasn't seen since the 2018-19 season. Only the Dallas Stars (91.8%) and Boston Bruins (90.9%) have higher kill rates than Columbus' 89.1% through the first month of the season.
   
• Adam Fantilli is showing why he's the top pick in the draft in almost any other year. With nine, he's tied for the team lead in points with Boone Jenner and Ivan Provorov. The 19-year-old is on a three-game point streak and has goals in consecutive games for the second time in his young career. He is averaging 15:23 of ice time per game and it's quickly becoming a fair question to ask why he's maybe not seeing a little more than that.
   
• This is going to sound like it's not true, but it is: the Blue Jackets are 6th-best in the league at 92 giveaways and their share of takeaways is an 11th-best 53%. The issue with this team hasn't been the frequency of turning the puck over; instead, it's been the timing and the erroneous nature of said turnovers. Think of it this way: two people spill a beverage on their shirt. One spills it ten times, but it's always water, always in small amounts, and on a Dri-Fit shirt. The other only spills eight times, but it's an entire glass of red wine on a white sweater. And oh, by the way, it's at a Christmas party right before your crush walks up. In this example, the Blue Jackets are the ones being friend-zoned.

Updated: 7:05 a.m. 
Subject to Change