CBJ 4, PIT 3: Blue Jackets Come From Behind Late, Win In Shootout To Break Streak And Move Into Wild Card Spot

	1	2	3 (OT) (SO)	F
	1	0	2 (0) (2)	4
	0	1	2 (0) (0)	3
CBJ GOALS:  Voronkov (PP) (P1, 3:20) Voronkov (P3, 12:05) Fantilli (PP) (P3, 17:24)

The biggest two points of the season.

Dmitri Voronkov scored early and late, Adam Fantilli tied it in the final minutes of regulation, Elvis Merzlikins came up huge in overtime, and Kirill Marchenko had the decisive goal in the shootout as the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on Tuesday night in the Steel City.

The win was Columbus' first in Pittsburgh since Nov. 13th, 2015 — a span of over 3,300 days, and one that looked like it was going to continue with the Blue Jackets down two with eight minutes left in the third period.

After scoring just three minutes into the game on a power play goal, Voronkov picked up his second of the night with 7:55 left in regulation to trim the Pittsburgh lead to 3-2. 

Still, it looked bleak until Columbus went on the power play with 3:51 left after Zach Werenski drew a slashing penalty against Pittsburgh's Blake Lizotte.

The Blue Jackets would tie it with 2:36 left in the game on a Fantilli tip-in, Columbus' second power play goal of the night.

In the overtime period, Merzlikins came up with a fantastic save on Sidney Crosby after a miscommunication from the Blue Jackets put the puck on Crosby's stick with no one between him and Elvis. 

Merzlikins finished the night with 20 saves on 23 shots, but none bigger than the stop on the future Hall of Famer. That allowed the game to go into the shootout, where Merzlikins came up big again with saves on Bryan Rust and Crosby (again). Kent Johnson opened the shootout with a goal, followed by Marchenko's game-winner. 

Shootout goals don't count for the official league stats, so Marchenko remains at 17 goals on the season. With Voronkov's two goals, the two are now tied for the team lead in goals.

The win puts the Blue Jackets above .500 in January for the first time since the 2021-22 season, and the two points also puts them into the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

The news wasn't all good, though: Sean Monahan was injured late in the second period. He attempted to come out for the third, but left the game again with what the team is calling an upper-body injury. After the game, head coach Dean Evason did not have an update.

Here's how all the action went down in the Blue Jackets victory in Pittsburgh:

1st Period:

(3:20 — CBJ PP Goal): Columbus' first shot of the game ends up in the back of the net. Early in the power play, Monahan gets the puck over to Marchenko. He sees Voronkov moving from the slot into the crease of Pittsburgh goalie Tristan Jarry, and fires it. Voronkov, as he's developed a niche for doing this season, is right in front of the net to put it away and give Columbus the 1-0 lead.

Dmitri Voronkov's team-leading seventh power play goal gets Columbus on the board first. He's second on the club with 16 goals. Marchenko (27) and Monahan (27) the assists. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/47EuZ1TVfb

— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 8, 2025

2nd Period

(0:51 — PIT PP Goal): As the Blue Jackets did early in the first, the Penguins do early in the second: a power play goal, this time just :51 seconds into the period from Michael Bunting to tie the game at 1-1.

3rd Period

(0:24 — PIT Goal): For the second straight period, the Penguins get a goal in the first minute. This time it's Rickard Rakell with his team-leading 19th of the season to it put Pittsburgh in front, 2-1. The Penguins won the faceoff in their own zone and went up the ice immediately, with Rakell firing from the left dot to beat Merzlikins.

(10:09 — PIT Goal): Rakell gets his second of the period (and 20th of the season) at right around the midpoint of the third to double the Penguins lead, 3-1. Another quick entry and goal from the Penguins.

(12:05 — CBJ Goal): Less than two minutes after the Pens make it 3-1, the Blue Jackets get one back after a failed clearing attempt from Jarry. Voronkov and Fantilli play briefly behind the boards before Fantilli gets it to Marchenko in the low slot. While that's happening, Voronkov is working his way back into his prime position next to the goalie. Fantilli's pass to Marchenko goes off his skate and perfectly to Voronkov for another creasy goal to bring Columbus to within one at 3-2.

Voronkov's second goal of the game makes it 3-2. He has four goals in the last two games, nine in the last seven games. He's now tied with Marchenko for the team lead (17).

Marchenko (28) and Fantilli (10) assisted. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/WBuNd3fuq1

— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 8, 2025

(17:24 — CBJ PP Goal): With time running out and the streak looking like it'll continue, the Blue Jackets go on a power play. Just over halfway through it is a thing of beauty: all five Columbus skaters touch the puck in less than five seconds, the final of which is Fantilli, who fires it from the slot past Jarry to tie the game at 3-3.

Fantilli's 9th on the power play tied it to force overtime. Kent Johnson (13) and Zach Werenski (34) assisted. pic.twitter.com/5XG6V5ucjd #CBJ

— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 8, 2025

Overtime/Shootout

Pittsburgh definitely had the better chances in overtime, and none of them were better than the Merzlikins save on Crosby. It allowed the game to go into overtime, where after Johnson's second shootout goal in a week and two more saves from Merzlikins, Marchenko put the streak to bed:

"The streak is over."

Kirill Marchenko buries the game-winner in a shoot-out.#CBJ | @BlueJacketsNHL pic.twitter.com/u2Q5aZVciW

— FanDuel Sports Network Columbus (@FanDuelSN_CBUS) January 8, 2025

Stat Chat:

• The Blue Jackets were 0-10-5 dating back to their last win in Pittsburgh. 
   
• Sometimes, it's the seemingly inconsequential things that make the biggest difference. Columbus had more than double the number of blocked shots as Pittsburgh did and had eight takeaways compared to none for the Penguins. That was the first time this season the Blue Jackets opponent went without a takeaway.

Up Next:

It's back home for just one game for the Blue Jackets. They'll face the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night with puck-drop set for 7 p.m.