PREVIEW: Blue Jackets return home to face Penguins in Friday showdown

BLUE JACKETS (18-18-1) vs. PENGUINS (24-10-5)

The Blue Jackets followed up perhaps their best game of the season last Thursday, a 6-0 win at Carolina, with perhaps their worst, a 9-2 shellacking at Florida on Saturday that caused a fair bit of soul searching in Nationwide Arena over the past few days.
Columbus didn't go to either extreme on Thursday night in Philadelphia, but the Jackets did get the response they were looking for. It wasn't a Picasso or a Rembrandt by any stretch, but the Blue Jackets turned in a workmanlike effort and were rewarded thusly, holding in for a 2-1 win at Philadelphia that got the team back on the right track.
You never know if a good effort will result in a win or a loss, but the goal Thursday night was to get a good effort, and the Blue Jackets got the job done from that standpoint.
"That was the first focus for sure, and then sometimes to get out of these things, to get going in the right direction, it's not pretty sometimes," birthday boy Sean Kuraly said after he notched an assist and three hits in the win. "I don't know if that was the prettiest one for us tonight but you find a way to get it done. That's the name of the game, just finding a way to get it done, and we did that tonight.
"Then you're happy about it for a couple of minutes and then we have another one tomorrow."
The Blue Jackets got goals from Oliver Bjorkstrand and Patrik Laine, two assists from captain Boone Jenner, yeoman's work out of defenseman Zach Werenski and Andrew Peeke, and 33 saves from Elvis Merzlikins to come away with the win.
It's that kind of team effort the Jackets will look to replicate tonight against the Penguins, who enter Nationwide Arena as one of the league's hottest teams. It's a far cry from Philadelphia, which lost its 10th in a row with the setback against Columbus last night, but the recipe remains the same no matter what team you're playing.
"It's all tied together -- special teams, 5-on-5," head coach Brad Larsen said after the win over Philadelphia. "Find a way to win, especially after the game before, as ugly as that was. You come on the road, it's hard to win on the road, and this is a team that it's a tough building to win in. I know they're having a little bit of a tough stretch here, but that makes these games sometimes even harder. They're desperate. We're a patchwork (group) here. Guys are stepping up and playing in bigger roles, and we found a way to win tonight."

Know the Foe

Look at the standings and you'll find the Penguins in a typical spot -- contending for a Metropolitan Division title and a playoff berth.
It wasn't the quickest start for Pittsburgh, but the Pens have won 19 of their last 24 games to put themselves back in the race after last night's 6-4 victory over Ottawa. It's been a fairly comprehensive effort for the team, which is outscoring foes 88-53 in that span, converting 25.4 percent of its power plays and watching its penalty kill click at 91.2 percent.
As a result, the Penguins enter the game with some pretty impressive stats, as the squad places ninth in the NHL in scoring (3.33 goals per game) and fourth in the league in team defense (2.56 allowed per game), plus the league's second-best penalty kill at 89.8 percent.
Because of injuries, it hasn't had to be the Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin show as well. Crosby has played just 27 games on the year, posting a point per game at 7-20-27, while Malkin has played in just four games but does have three goals and two assists.
CBJ killer Jake Guentzel (eight goals in 14 career games) leads the way, placing tied for seventh in the NHL with 21 goals while adding 18 assists for a team-best 39 points. Kris Letang has 31 assists to place seventh in the league in that category and 34 points overall, while Evan Rodrigues is having a breakout season with the 28-year-old posting a 15-15-30 line.
Former CBJ forward Jeff Carter adds 11 goals and 13 assists, while Kasperi Kapanen (8-15-23) and Bryan Rust (9-13-22) have been big pieces in secondary scoring.
Perhaps the biggest reason the Pens are doing so well at the moment, though, is goaltender Tristan Jarry. The once-maligned netminder is turning in a career year, placing tied for third in the NHL in wins (20), third in goals-against average (2.14) and fifth in save percentage (.927). Backup Casey DeSmith has eight starts (3-3-1/3.47/.888) while the team also recently added journeyman Louis Domingue while DeSmith was in COVID protocol.