| 1 | 2 | 3 (OT) (SO) | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
1 | 2 | 0 (0) (1) | 4 |
 |
2 | 0 | 1 (0) (0) | 3 |
|
CBJ GOALS: |
||||
Elvis Merzlikins made 29 saves, including five in overtime, and Charlie Coyle scored the game-winning goal in the shootout as the Columbus Blue Jackets pushed their winning streak to four Saturday night with a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
It matches Columbus' longest winning streak of the season.
Zach Aston-Reese started the scoring for Columbus with his first goal of the season to give the Blue Jackets an early 1-0 lead, but the Penguins scored twice before the period ended to take a 2-1 lead into the intermission.
Columbus tied it at the 7:32 mark of the second on Kirill Marchenko's 18th goal of the season, tying him with Zach Werenski for the team lead. The Blue Jackets would take a lead with 2:22 left in the middle frame when Danton Heinen, like Aston-Reese earlier, scored against his former team.
It was Heinen's first goal with Columbus.
The score stayed 3-2 until the closing minutes, when the Blue Jackets coughed up another third-period lead at the hands of a Sidney Crosby goal. It was his fourth in four games against Columbus this season and the 25th in 49 career regular season games against the Blue Jackets.
There were no goals in the overtime period despite five shots on goal from the Penguins, many of which were at point-blank range. Merzlikins came up huge all the way throughout not only the overtime, but the shootout period as well. He stopped three of four there, allowing only a goal by former teammate Egor Chinakhov.
With the shootout tied at 1-1 in the fourth round, Coyle came through with a nasty move to beat Pittsburgh goalie Arturs Silovs and give the Blue Jackets the 4-3 victory.
Merzlikins was named the Third Star of the game.
Dante Fabbro left the game in the first period with a lower-body injury and did not return.
Here's how the Blue Jackets kept their winning ways going:
1st Period:
(2:42 — CBJ Goal): Aston-Reese gets his first of the season in the opening minutes of the game. Brendan Gaunce wins a faceoff in the Penguins zone and the puck slides back to Werenski. His shot is blocked, but it trickles right to Aston-Reese in the slot. He swats it home to score against his former team and make it a 1-0 Blue Jackets lead.
Zach Aston-Reese playing in his first game under the new coach... and he gets his first goal of the season less than three minutes into it! #CBJ pic.twitter.com/SFsg202wS1
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 18, 2026
(9:59 — PIT Goal): Clifton gets his first point as a Penguin in his 19th game with the team. Pittsburgh chops it from behind Merzlikins and the puck takes just the right set of bounces for the Penguins; first getting through Charlie Coyle and then over the stick of Dmitri Voronkov. It lands on Clifton's, who fires through traffic and scores to tie the game at 1-1.
Connor Clifton nets his fist as a Penguin pic.twitter.com/3L2tyVi1E8
— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) January 18, 2026
(17:52 — PIT Goal): The Penguins take the lead on a goal from Rakell. Monahan is along the glass and working to move the puck along the boards, but Crosby intercepts it and immediately throws the puck into the slot. That's where Rakell is waiting, and he beats Merzlikins to give Pittsburgh their first lead of the game at 2-1.
Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell have some real chemistry
— NHL (@NHL) January 18, 2026
NHL x @massmutual pic.twitter.com/m0IvYQIVAv
2nd Period:
(7:32 — CBJ Goal): A fantastic effort from Marchenko to tie the game. He pushes past Crosby in the neutral zone and collects a loose puck. As he moves up the slot, he creates enough from Pittsburgh defenseman Brett Kulak to get off a good shot. Marchenko does just that, beats Silovs, and makes it a 2-2 game.
Marchenko makes it four games in a row with a point and scores for the second straight game, this one to tie it at 2-2. He jumps ahead of Crosby then distances himself from Brett Kulak before firing one past Arturs Silovs for his 18th of the season.pic.twitter.com/NYIrtCQk6p
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 18, 2026
(17:38 — CBJ Goal): Columbus regains the lead on Heinen's first goal with the Blue Jackets. Egor Zamula gets a D-to-D pass off to Erik Gudbranson, who fires from the point through traffic. Heinen gets a stick on it and tips it past Silovs for a 3-2 Columbus lead. Zamula and Gurbranson get the assists — the first of the season for each and the first with Columbus for Zamula.
Former Penguin Danton Heinen gets his first with the #CBJ late in the second to give Columbus a 3-2 lead. Erik Gudbranson and Egor Zamula get the assists; the first point of the season for both.pic.twitter.com/0tMFwlx1rk
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 18, 2026
3rd Period:
(18:59 — PIT Goal): With the Pittsburgh net empty, the Blue Jackets somehow lose sight of Crosby. He gets to the side of the net and redirects a pass from Kris Letang into the net to tie the game at 3-3 with 1:01 left in regulation.
SIDNEY. CROSBY. pic.twitter.com/08THs500bC
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 18, 2026
Overtime/Shootout:
There were no goals in the overtime period despite five shots on goal from the Penguins, many of which were at point-blank range. Merzlikins came up huge all the way throughout not only the overtime, but the shootout period as well. He stopped three of four, allowing only a goal by former teammate Egor Chinakhov. With the shootout tied at 1-1 in the fourth round, Coyle provided a nasty move to beat Silovs and give the Blue Jackets the 4-3 victory.
COYLE WINS IT IN THE SHOOTOUT
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) January 18, 2026
CBJ x @FanaticsBook pic.twitter.com/xEwUSfGsyB
| CBJ | GAME STATS | PIT |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | SHOTS | 32 |
| 42% | FACEOFFS | 58% |
| 0/2 | POWER PLAY | 0/3 |
| 3/3 | PENALTY KILL | 2/2 |
| 24 | HITS | 17 |
| 13 | GIVEAWAYS | 14 |
| 10 | TAKEAWAYS | 3 |
| 24 | BLOCKED SHOTS | 14 |
| ALL SITUATIONS ADVANCED STATS | ||
| 55 | SHOT ATTEMPTS | 79 |
| 29 | SCORING CHANCES | 44 |
| 11 | HIGH-DANGER CHANCES | 23 |
| Data via NHL.com & NaturalStatTrick.com | ||
Stat Chat:
-
According to Natural Stat Trick, the Penguins had an all-situations expected goals of 5.12. The way MoneyPuck calculates it, it was 5.45. But no matter how you slice it, Elvis 29 saves on 32 shots and 3-of-4 performance in the shootout was a solid performance.
-
Mid-way through the game, Danton Heinen usurped Dmitri Voronkov on the third line, pushing Big Boss down to the bottom line. His 8:57 of ice time was second-fewest of all forwards (Aston-Reese; 7:32) and was Voronkov's lowest time on ice this season and the third-lowest of his career.
- This was the first time in franchise history that the Blue Jackets have won twice in the same season in Pittsburgh. Last season, they ended a near-decade long streak with their first win in Pittsburgh since November, 2015.
Up Next:
The Blue Jackets have a pair of off days before a season-long five-game homestand. That kicks off Tuesday night with a 7:00 p.m. puck-drop against the Ottawa Senators. The teams have split their season series thus far: Ottawa won 6-3 in Columbus on December 11th, the Blue Jackets returned the favor with a 4-1 win in Ottawa on December 29th.
