Blue Jackets outlast Penguins thanks to Dmitri Voronkov’s big night – The Hockey Writers Columbus Blue Jackets Latest news, analysis and more

The Columbus Blue Jackets came to Pittsburgh hoping to salvage a break in their run of Metropolitan Division games the past two nights. After a back-and-forth game, the Blue Jackets found a way to prevail.

It took a firefight to decide this. All three Blue Jackets shooters beat goaltender Arturs Silovs to lift them to a 5-4 victory over the Penguins.

The story of this game was the Blue Jackets finding a way to get a win in a tough situation.

Summary of the game

It took the Penguins just 59 seconds to open the scoring. Ryan Shea received a pass from Anthony Mantha and had plenty of space to close in on Elvis Merzlikins. Shea made no mistake and gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead.

Then, looking for a spark, Captain Boone Jenner stepped up. After taking a hit from Matt Dumba in the offensive zone, Jenner challenged Dumba to a fight. The fight was Jenner’s first since March 2023, when he dropped gloves with Brandon Carlo.

Then it took the Blue Jackets just a few minutes to tie the game. Although it went through a review before being confirmed.

Charlie Coyle scored his first goal as a Blue Jacket. Dante Fabbro got the puck on the net. Coyle crashed the net and set up the rebound. The Penguins attempted to challenge for goalie interference. The goal was scored, giving the Blue Jackets a power play.

But after a lethargic power play, Mantha then scored off a pass from Evgeni Malkin to make it 2-1 for Penguins. This goal came 17 seconds after they avoided the delay of the match penalty.

The Blue Jackets trailed 2-1 after the first, but had a 16-7 lead. They scored the only goal of the second when Dmitri Voronkov beat Silovs off a feed from Kent Johnson.

The Blue Jackets opened the third with two goals in the first five minutes to open a 4-2 lead. Yegor Chinakhov scored his first goal of the season, while Voronkov scored his second goal of the match from in front of the net.

Then the Blue Jackets took two penalties in less than three minutes. The second came back to bite them.

Kris Letang’s power-play goal made it 4-3. Exactly two minutes later, Bryan Rust scored his first of the season. After regulation the score was 4-4.

Overtime didn’t solve anything, despite the Blue Jackets having the best chances. Then Kent Johnson, Adam Fantilli and Kirill Marchenko all scored in the shootout. Despite Rust and Sidney Crosby scoring, Evgeni Malkin’s attempt missed the net to finish the match.

After the game, Penguins coach Dan Muse said Rickard Rakell remains under evaluation for an upper-body injury. He left the game in the third period after blocking a shot.

The Blue Jackets will get Sunday off before returning to practice on Monday ahead of Tuesday night’s game in Buffalo. The Penguins, meanwhile, play at home Monday night when the St. Louis Blues come to town.