Some things never seem to change.
Sidney Crosby had a four-point night with a hat trick and an assist to help the Pittsburgh Penguins win their fifth straight and beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-3 on Tuesday night at Nationwide Arena.
Crosby is on a nine-game point streak (seven goals, seven assists) and has 16 career hat tricks.
Jake Guentzel and Erik Karlsson each scored and had an assist. Guentzel is on a five-game point streak (four goals, five assists). In 22 career games against the Blue Jackets, Guentzel has 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists). Karlsson is on a six-game point streak (four goals, seven assists).
Marcus Pettersson, Kris Letang, Vinnie Hinostroza, Evgeni Malkin, Rickard Rakell, and Bryan Rust picked up assists. Malkin is on a three-game point streak (one goal, three assists).
Kirill Marchenko, Yegor Chinakhov, and Alexandre Texier scored for Columbus. Texier is on a three-game point streak (two goals, one assist).
Erik Gudbranson, Zach Werenski, Sean Kuraly, and Justin Danforth had assists.
Gudbranson is on a three-game point streak (zero goals, four assists). Werenski is on a three-game point streak (zero goals, three assists). Texier is on a three-game point streak (two goals, one assist). Kuraly is on a three-game point streak (two goals, one assist).
Tristan Jarry made 28 saves. Elvis Merzlikins made 38 stops.
Columbus blocked 22 shots tonight, with 16 different players blocking a shot. That set a franchise record, coming one short of an NHL record.
Black And Gold Woes
With Tuesday's loss, the Blue Jackets are 2-8-2 against the Penguins dating back to 2019-20 — the two didn't play in 2020-21 while the league realigned during the Covid-shortened season.
If you recall, the Blue Jackets' lone win against Pittsburgh last season came in the final meeting in the second-to-last game of the regular season. The timing was funny as the Blue Jackets were thick in the race for the No. 1 lottery pick, and Pittsburgh had to win their two remaining games to make the playoffs.
Instead, the 16-season playoff streak — the longest active streak among the four major sports — ended, and Pittsburgh was eliminated when they lost to two of the worst teams in the league, the Chicago Blackhawks and Blue Jackets. The loss to Columbus vaulted the New York Islanders into the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
Columbus had a 4-0 lead on Mar. 7 last season, scoring three in the first period before letting the Penguins back into the contest, where they scored three of their own in the third period and won 5-4 in overtime.
The other win for the Blue Jackets over the Penguins came at Nationwide Arena on Nov. 29 in the 2019-20 season. The Penguins have a 10-game point streak against the Jackets going back to Dec. 12, 2019.
Similar to the Penguins' playoff streak, this losing stretch against Pittsburgh shall end one day, too. The next opportunity comes Mar. 5 in Pittsburgh.
Columbus is 1-4-2 in November. They're 0-3-2 over their last five games and have led in each game. Columbus is 1-2-4 in one-goal games this season.
Marchenko's Back
Some may have wondered what was going on with Marchenko's slow start to the season. So much so he was a healthy scratch for two games at the end of October.
Since Marchenko's return to the lineup, he has a point in every November game but one — Sunday's shootout loss to the New York Rangers.
His goal against the Penguins came as an individual effort originating in the defensive zone. Provorov poked the puck loose from a Penguin, allowing Marchenko to retrieve it and go. The tally tied the game at 1-1 at the 10:29 mark.
Marchenko's individual effort and the assist to Provorov. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/dz8bGRv523
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) November 15, 2023
Since Nov. 2, Marchenko has six points (four goals, two assists).
Marchenko left for the bench towards the end of the second period after an award collision into the boards but returned for the third period.
Chinakhov Is On The Board
It's been nearly a full calendar year since Chinakhov scored a goal in the NHL.
Cross that off the to-do list.
Chinakhov's goal at 19:28 of the first period gave Columbus its first lead of the game.
The assist gives Werenski 174 for his career, tops among Blue Jackets defensemen all-time as he passes Seth Jones. #CBJ
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) November 15, 2023
Werenski made history with his 174th career assist on the play, and Gudbranson's helper gave him seven points (one goal, six assists) in a seven-game stretch for the first time in his career.
The goal is Chinakhov's first point this season, and it's his first goal since Nov. 25 against the Islanders last year. Chinakhov missed a chunk of last season after a December ankle injury, and then he ended the year playing for Cleveland.
After starting the year with the Monsters, Chinakhov played his fifth game of the season tonight for the Blue Jackets.
'Yotes
Columbus wraps up their two-game home stand with the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday, Nov. 16, at 7:00 p.m. ET.
