Pittsburgh Review

The Pittsburgh Penguins faced a setback in their recent game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, losing 6-2 at Nationwide Arena. This follows a loss to Dallas and a point earned against Detroit earlier in the week.

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby commented on the team's need for consistency: “We’re looking for consistency, obviously,” he said. “Now, we gotta commit to playing the same way, and that’s not always easy to do. There’s a lot of things that can affect that. So, we can’t allow anything to change the way we play. We just got to go out there with that mindset and find a way to do it for a full game.”

Goaltender Tristan Jarry returned for his first NHL start since October 16 after spending time with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League for conditioning. Jarry encountered challenges early on as Columbus scored off their first shot within two minutes of play.

Columbus capitalized on their opportunities with Zach Werenski scoring during their first power play. Jarry noted, “Obviously, their game plan was to get a lot of pucks to the net, get a lot of bodies to the net, and just battle.” He added that Columbus maintained pressure throughout most of the game.

Anthony Beauvillier continued his scoring streak by tallying his third consecutive goal, assisted by Crosby. Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan expressed hope for Beauvillier's continued contributions: “I hope he can continue to help us there because certainly, we’re going to need it.”

Despite some positive moments in the second period, including Michael Bunting's fourth goal in six games and solid offensive efforts from Drew O’Connor's line, Pittsburgh struggled defensively in the final period. Marcus Pettersson remarked on their defensive lapses: “I think they got in on us... those second opportunities, we got to clean up way better than that.”

Sullivan agreed with Pettersson's assessment: "Obviously the biggest point in the third period was we didn’t defend our netfront."

In other team news, Kris Letang missed the game due to illness while Matt Nieto made his return after undergoing surgeries earlier this year. Sullivan praised Nieto's perseverance: “He’s gone through a lot... multiple surgeries and all the rehab... it is remarkable.”