| 1 | 2 | 3 | OT / SO | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
1 | 1 | 2 | 0 / 1-1-1 | 5 |
 |
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 / 1-1-0 | 4 |
|
CBJ GOALS: |
|||||
Two points are two points, even when they're stressful to grab.
Dmitri Voronkov scored two goals and the Columbus Blue Jackets went a perfect 3-for-3 in a shootout to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 on Saturday night at the PPG Paints Arena.
Charlie Coyle and Yegor Chinakhov also scored for the Blue Jackets, each for the first time this season.
Coyle's goal, his first as a Blue Jacket, came in the first period and tied the game at one, while the first or two from Voronkov tied the game at 2-2 late in the second period. Chinakhov and Voronkov each scored in a three-minute span in the opening minutes of the third period before the Penguins would score twice in two minutes to tie the game with 3:06 left in regulation.
Despite the two late goals, defenseman Zach Werenski was happy with the team's play.
"I think we played really well. We kind of lost ourselves for three or four minutes there (in the third) and they tied it up, but I thought for most of the game we were in total control," said Werenski.
That included in overtime, where the Blue Jackets had a couple of good opportunities to win the game. But it would be a shootout before the game was decided, with the Blue Jackets stepping up large and finding the back of the net on all three of their attempts. Pittsburgh scored on their first two, but Evgeni Malkin's game-tying shootout attempt went high to seal the win for Columbus.
When asked what his thought process was in the shootout, goaltender Elvis Merzlikins gave a blunt answer.
"I'm not thinking. If you think on penalty shots, you're going to lose," said Merzlikins. "The first two penalty shots I was thinking and they scored."
"So I had to get back to my basics: not think."
Here's how the Blue Jackets got back to .500 on the season:
1st Period:
(0:59 — PIT Goal): The Penguins get the opening goal less than a minute in. Ryan Shea's first of the season comes after he takes a cross-ice pass from Anthony Mantha, skates into the face-off dot and connects on a wrister to make it 1-0 Pittsburgh.
(15:44 — CBJ Goal): Coyle ties the game at 1-1 with assists from Dante Fabbro and Cole Sillinger. Fabbro's shot deflects off Silovs and trickles around the crease briefly before Coyle is right there for the put back and his first goal with the Blue Jackets.
pic.twitter.com/U3jVjTQIIm #CBJ
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) October 25, 2025
(18:01 — PIT Goal): Less than three minutes after the Blue Jackets tie it, the Penguins regain the lead. Mantha carries the puck in on the rush, beats Merzlikins, and makes it 2-1 Pittsburgh.
2nd Period:
(17:39 — CBJ Goal): The Blue Jackets tie the game at 2-2 on Voronkov's first of two goals on the evening. Kent Johnson loses possession of the puck along the boards but fights hard to get it back behind the net. He spots Voronkov charging towards teh net and taps a backhand pass his way. Big Boss buries it to knot the game.
Tied game between the #CBJ and Pens as we enter the third period. Here's Dmitri Voronkov's equalizer that knotted it at 2-2 with 2:21 left in the 2nd:pic.twitter.com/qOZOZ4abKE
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) October 26, 2025
3rd Period:
(1:55 — CBJ Goal): No better time for Chinakhov's first of the season than right here. He takes an Aston-Reese pass from along the boards and fires a shot through three Penguins skaters that beats Silovs and puts the Blue Jackets in front for the first time in the game, 3-2.
Yegor Chinakhov's first goal of the season gives the #CBJ their first lead of the night at the 1:55 mark of the third period. They've since added to the lead: it's 4-2 Blue Jackets with 13:36 to go.pic.twitter.com/RDhC2eABx0
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) October 26, 2025
(4:54 — CBJ Goal): Less than three minutes after Chinakhov's goal puts Columbus up one, Voronkov doubles the lead and makes it 4-2 Columbus on his second goal of the night. The top line of Voronkov—Monahan—Marchenko skates in 3-on-3 and Monahan takes the initial shot from near the face-off dot. Silovs makes the save but the rebound pings right to Voronkov who taps it home to extend the Blue Jackets lead.
Big Boss with his second of the night (and fifth of the season) doubles the Columbus lead in Pittsburgh.
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) October 26, 2025
It's 4-2 #CBJ with 11:10 left.pic.twitter.com/711X6D1pDT
(14:54 — PIT Goal): With eight seconds left on their power play, the Penguins convert on the man-advantage to cut the Blue Jackets lead to 4-3. Kris Letang notches his first of the season on a shot from the slot.
(16:54 — PIT Goal): Right back where we started as the Penguins tie the game at 4-4. Like Letang exactly two minutes earlier, Bryan Rust uses a slap shot to get his first goal of the season.
Overtime + Shootout:
Both teams had multiple opportunities to win it in overtime, but it would come down to a shootout. Johnson shoots first and scores five-hole on Silovs but Rust answers right back in the first round for the Penguins. In the second round, Fantilli takes his time before striking at the right time to find the back of the net. The Penguins would again answer, this time with the future Hall-of-Famer Sidney Crosby beating Merzlikins. Kirill Marchenko made it 3-for-3 in the shootout for Columbus, and when the Penguins had chance to tie it, Malkin's shot goes high and two points go into the standings for the Blue Jackets.
| CBJ | GAME STATS | PIT |
|---|---|---|
| 41 | SHOTS | 30 |
| 48% | FACEOFFS | 52% |
| 0/2 | POWER PLAY | 1/3 |
| 2/3 | PENALTY KILL | 2/2 |
| 24 | HITS | 18 |
| 8 | GIVEAWAYS | 20 |
| 8 | TAKEAWAYS | 3 |
| 15 | BLOCKED SHOTS | 16 |
| ALL SITUATIONS ADVANCED STATS | ||
| 3.85 | EXPECTED GOALS | 3.16 |
| 75 | SHOT ATTEMPTS | 60 |
| 40 | SCORING CHANCES | 24 |
| 14 | HIGH-DANGER CHANCES | 7 |
| Data via NHL.com & NaturalStatTrick.com | ||
Stat Chat:
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Zach Aston-Reese had the primary assist on Chinakhov's goal for the 100th point of ZAR's career, 20 of which have come wearing a Columbus sweater.
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The win was the 97th of Merzlikins career, passing Steve Mason for the second-most all-time in franchise history.
- The Blue Jackets have now won three of their first road games to start the season. It took them 11 road games to get their third win last season.
Up Next:
After their first back-to-back of the season, the Blue Jackets get two days off before finishing up a brief, two-game road trip in Buffalo on Tuesday. Puck-drop with the Sabres is set for 7:00 p.m.
