National Hockey League
Pittsburgh 5, Columbus 4
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, March 7, 2023
Where: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Referees: Tom Chmielewski, Furman South
Linesmen: Jonathan Deschamps, Jesse Marquis
Attendance: 17400

Sidney Crosby's third point Tuesday was a power-play goal on a blast from the right circle at 2:45 of overtime as the Pittsburgh Penguins scored five unanswered goals to top the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4.

Jason Zucker scored twice, Jake Guentzel and Danton Heinen also scored, Evgeni Malkin had three assists and Rickard Rakell contributed two assists for the Penguins, who have won five of six.

Pittsburgh goaltender Tristan Jarry gave up four goals on 12 shots before being pulled for Casey DeSmith, who stopped all 15 shots he faced.

Emil Bemstrom and Liam Foudy each had a goal and an assist, Lane Pederson and Patrik Laine also scored and Kent Johnson had two assists for the Blue Jackets, who lost their third straight game (0-2-1).

Columbus goaltender Elvis Merzlikins stopped all seven shots he faced in the first period before falling ill. Michael Hutchinson entered in relief and made 35 saves.

The Penguins played without forwards Bryan Rust, who was excused for personal reasons, and Mikael Granlund, who was ill. Alex Nylander was recalled as an 11th forward and had an assist in his Penguins debut.

Bemstrom's power-play goal got things started at 4:02 of the first period, on a near-side blast from the left dot.

At 7:54 of the first, Pederson increased the gap to 2-0. Pederson, the trailer on a two-on-one, scored on a rebound.

Laine made it 3-0 at 10:11 of the first. Jack Roslovic soared down the left side, curled in front of Jarry and fed Laine in the slot.

At 2:37 of the second, Foudy's rising shot from near the left dot gave the Blue Jackets a four-goal lead and chased Jarry.

Pittsburgh cut it to 4-1 at 10:23 of the second. Malkin fed Zucker in the low slot. Zucker went forehand to backhand to beat Hutchinson.

Guentzel made it 4-2 when he cut in from the right boards and scored short side 21 seconds into the third period.

At 3:16, Zucker struck from the slot again to cut it to 4-3.

Heinen tied it with a tip in front off a feed from Rakell at 3:59.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Columbus   Pittsburgh
Emil Bemstrom 2 Points Sidney Crosby 3
Emil Bemstrom 1 Goals Jason Zucker 2
Kent Johnson 2 Assists Evgeni Malkin 3
Emil Bemstrom 1 Power Play Goals Sidney Crosby 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Elvis Merzlikins 1.000 Save Percentage Casey DeSmith 1.000
Michael Hutchinson 35 Saves Casey DeSmith 15
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Columbus 27 4 1-2 1-2 4 33
Pittsburgh 47 5 1-2 1-2 4 33
Upcoming Games
  • Pittsburgh will play their next game at home against NY Islanders. The Penguins have a W/L % of .594 after a win and .419 after a loss.
  • Columbus will play their next game at home against St. Louis. The Blue Jackets have a W/L % of .200 after a win and .364 after a loss.