Marchenko, Johnson help Blue Jackets rally past Penguins in shootout, 4-3

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Kirill Marchenko and Kent Johnson scored in the shootout and the Columbus Blue Jackets rallied to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on Tuesday night.

Elvis Merzlikins, who made 20 saves, stopped Bryan Rust and Sidney Crosby in the shootout, as Columbus came back from a 3-1 deficit in the third period.

Adam Fantilli scored a third-period power-play goal and Dmitri Voronkov scored twice, giving him nine goals in seven games. Columbus has goals with the man advantage in 12 of its last 15 games. Sean Monahan left with an upper-body injury.

Rickard Rakell scored twice and Michael Bunting set a career high with his eighth power-play goal. Crosby had two assists and became the NHL’s all-time leader in faceoff wins since the league started tracking the stat in 1997.

Evgeni Malkin was a late scratch with an upper-body injury. Malkin, who is considered day to day, missed a game for the first time since the 2021-22 season.

Marchenko, Johnson help Blue Jackets rally past Penguins in shootout, 4-3 | iNFOnews.ca — Pittsburgh Penguins’ Rickard Rakell (67) gets out of the way of a shot in front of Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (90) with Zach Werenski (8) defending during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Tristan Jarry made 26 saves.

Takeaways

Blue Jackets: Columbus has won three of four and six of their last nine games. They’ve scored at least four goals in all of their recent wins.

Penguins: Pittsburgh lost its fourth straight game. The Penguins, who dropped their last three after regulation, have lost six of eight overall after winning eight of 11.

Key moment

Fantilli was in the slot when he redirected Johnson’s pass behind Jarry, tying the game with 2:36 left in regulation.

Key stat

Columbus snapped a 15-game winless streak in Pittsburgh dating back to Dec. 21, 2015. The Blue Jackets have won five games in Pittsburgh since the 2000-2001 season.

Up next

Both teams play at home on Thursday. Columbus hosts Seattle and Pittsburgh welcomes Connor McDavid and the Oilers.