Penguins’ Two-Goal Comeback for Naught in Ugly Loss to Blue Jackets

The Pittsburgh Penguins erased a two-goal deficit Friday night, but they could not pull ahead, had a lackluster third period and fell 6-2 to the Blue Jackets in Columbus, falling to 1-3-2 in their past six games. The Penguins have scored just five goals over their past three games.

Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry, making his first NHL start since Oct. 16 after spending two weeks on a conditioning loan to the AHL and then not playing for six days after his recall, made 34 saves.

Columbus had been 0-5-1 in its previous six games and is one of the few teams in the league with a worse record than the Penguins. The Penguins had been 11-0-2 in their previous 13 games against the Metropolitan Division foe Blue Jackets.

The Penguins played without top-pairing defenseman Kris Letang, who remained home because of illness. Forward Matt Nieto, who has been out for nearly a year because of a knee injury that required two surgeries, made his season debut.

For the second game in a row, the Penguins came back from a two-goal deficit. Wednesday, they couldn’t get the go-ahead goal and lost to Detroit 3-2 in overtime. That means they have just one point in the standings since their 7-1 debacle Monday against Dallas.

There might have been reason to hold your breath when Jarry gave up a goal 2:20 into regulation. With Columbus moving the puck well on the forecheck, former Penguins teammate Zach Aston-Reese, near the left post, deflected a Jake Christansen shot past Jarry for a 1-0 Blue Jackets lead.

At 8:39 of the first, Zach Werenski’s shot barely glanced off the Penguins’ Noel Acciari, who also was screening Jarry, and the puck went over Jarry’s glove side for a power-play goal and a 2-0 Columbus lead.

The Penguins got a response goal at 11:51 of the first when Anthony Beauvillier, playing on the top line, got his third goal in three games, sixth overall. Coming from behind the net to the right post, he batted the puck behind Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merlikins to cut it to 2-1. Sidney Crosby got the lone assist. It was No. 1,016 of his career, tying Crosby with Joe Sakic for 13th all-time in the NHL.

At 7:46 of the second, Acciari got the puck behind Merzlikins, but it was immediately waved off as the officials decided that Nieto interfered with the Blue Jackets goalie.

Michael Bunting, on a power play, tied it for the Penguins at 12:06 of the second. The puck ping-ponged around the slot before Bunting scored on a turning wrist shot. Beauvillier got the primary assist for his second point of the game.

The Penguins once again could not get the go-ahead goal after coming back to tie it. Mathieu Olivier, from the right hash marks, beat Jarry short side to give Columbus a 3-2 lead at 16:27 of the second.

The Penguins were outshot 15-6 in the second.

Just 1:56 into the third, Dmitri Voronkov increased the Blue Jackets’ lead to 4-2. From in tight, he slid a rebound under Jarry’s pads.

The hole got deeper at 9:49 of the third when Damon Severson scored from the right edge of he slot to make it 5-2.

Cole Sillinger scored into an empty net just after a Penguins power play expired with 4:28 left and it was an ugly 6-2.