3 Takeaways From Blue Jackets’ 3-2 Win Over the Penguins

The Columbus Blue Jackets pulled out a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night, in a game where the Blue Jackets dominated pace of play almost all night. The game began to slip away in the late second period, and in the first half of the third period, but neither team could get the go-ahead goal.

In the overtime period, it went back and forth, and the Blue Jackets had multiple two-on-zero breakaway attempts, but couldn’t beat goaltender Sergei Murashov. Murashov was outstanding for the Penguins in this one, keeping them in the game at various points, stopping 43 of the Blue Jackets’ 45 shots.

However, it was a Kent Johnson shootout goal that beat Murashov for the third time, and wound up being the only shootout goal on either side. Cam Talbot went three-for-three on stops in the shootout, the final one coming against Ben Kindel, to win the shootout 1-0.

The Blue Jackets also had four power-play opportunities, but couldn’t capitalize on any of them. They created chances and high-danger shots from in the slot, but just didn’t find a way to beat Murashov. The penalty kill, while only having two chances at work, was great for Columbus.

Severson’s Return Was Impressive

Damon Severson had not played any in-game action since March 26, when he injured his shoulder, and had surgery going into the offseason. The original timeline for his return was slated for November, but he was ready to go and came back ahead of schedule. His presence back on the ice was felt in a big way, as he scored off a cross-ice pass from Zach Werenski.

Severson logged 22:20 on-ice for Columbus, as Werenski played 29:36. It was clearly a point of emphasis to get them both playing in space Friday night, and it was obvious how much more freely Werenski can play with Severson out there.

“I just tried to keep it simple. Tried to make the easy plays, and obviously was gifted a back door from Z (Werenski), and then Ollie (Mathieu Olivier) just puts one in there,” said Severson. “Just trying to get involved, trying to do my thing offensively, kind of off my instincts, but defensively, just trying to keep it small.”

Zach Werenski with the sauce, Damon Severson with the finish! 😮‍💨 https://t.co/p3YyBSLubJ

— NHL (@NHL) October 9, 2026

Asked if his eyes got big when he saw the lane with Werenski when he had the puck, prior to his goal, and he noted he definitely did.

“It did, yeah. It was a play we like to run sometimes when those guys are out there for sure. We get good movement, and then the defense gets really confused with who picks up who,” said Severson.

Getting back on the ice after missing 12 games is the biggest piece of it for him, however. He talked about the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to get back into game shape and prepare for a season debut like Friday night.

“I only missed a total of 12 games, which isn’t too bad in the grand scheme of things, but nobody sees what goes on behind the scenes and the things you have to do to get ready to play again,” said Severson.

He needs to stay healthy this season for Columbus, and if he does, he and Werenski could certainly recreate the magic they had last season, en route to Werenski’s Norris Trophy win.

Talbot Proves Serviceable as No. 2

Talbot played well enough to give the Blue Jackets a chance to win Friday night. He made the big saves when he needed to, and shut down all three Penguins shootout attempts, giving his guys a well-earned victory.

The Blue Jackets controlled the pace of play almost all night, and they were simply fresher and looked better than the Penguins. They outshot the Penguins 20-3 after the first period, and 30-10 after the second period. The puck was consistently in the Penguins’ defensive zone, and for a goaltender, he could almost take the night off.

He discussed how hard it can be at times to stay fresh when you aren’t seeing much game action.

“I just tried to keep focus, and talk a lot. Play the puck whenever you can, and just focus on whatever shots were coming my way,” said Talbot. “Those always feel nice when you can seal it like that. Obviously we deserved to win that game, so to let those guys down would have been hard for me.”

Cam Talbot SHUTS THE DOOR in the shootout and becomes the only goaltender in NHL history to play for AND win a game with NINE (9) different franchises 🤯🔥 https://t.co/Y9V8KHvsnn

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) October 10, 2026

If the Blue Jackets are able to work a true tandem this season, between Jet Greaves and Talbot, it gives a forging star in Greaves the ability to stay fresh all season. Greaves being fresh was something they struggled with last season, as they couldn’t get reliable play from Elvis Merzlikins enough.

Talbot is a veteran, though, and he knows what it looks like to be a backup and a starter. I think having that reliable element back there can only help to plan for road trips, back-to-backs like the one they are facing, and just giving Greaves a game off here and there.

Talbot will play a massively critical piece to what the Blue Jackets are able to do, and how far they are able to go. It will not be able to all fall on Greaves this season; the weight has to be shared, and Talbot can lighten that load.

Took Away Time and Space

One of the biggest themes I noticed through Friday night’s game was how little time and space any Penguins player had to make a decision. The ability to just throw a stick at the puck, or step into a passing lane, or even put the body on someone made a big impact.

All game long, it looked like the Penguins were just struggling to keep up with the speed of the Blue Jackets, and they were doing their best to impose their will on their Metropolitan Division rivals. The Blue Jackets looked like the more rested team, and they took full advantage of it.

They got the two big points, which is the most important part, but how they positioned themselves for their second leg of the back-to-back against the St. Louis Blues is yet to be seen. Playing 65 minutes, a shootout, and immediately traveling to play another game is a mental and physical toll on the body. We will see how they respond to it.

Penguins head coach Dan Muse talked post-game about the pressure they faced all night, and the inability to win races to the pucks.

“Too many missed pucks we weren’t getting to, and I thought when we were getting the puck we were too spread out, and it was hard to get up ice,” said Muse. “They pressured hard tonight, and if you get isolated out by yourself, it will get difficult.”

If the Blue Jackets can get to that brand of hockey more frequently, they will be a really hard team to play against, as they were during their stretch run last season where they looked nearly unbeatable. Time and space become a huge point of emphasis, as Blue Jackets head coach Rick Bowness has wanted his team to be hard to play against.

On Friday night, they looked like one of the best teams in hockey. They also looked like they had found their identity in the first and second periods, but that started to turn once the Penguins scored a pair of goals in the later stages of the game.

There were also other minor details the Blue Jackets executed in a great way, like the faceoff dot, for instance. The team went 30-of-45 in faceoffs, which has been vastly improved over last season’s faceoff troubles. Adam Fantilli has led the charge in the circle, as he won 14-of-16 Friday night, and has won 45-of-56 so far this season, an 80.4% win rate.

Columbus improved to 6-3 against Pittsburgh all-time in shootouts, and this was the third straight shootout victory for the Blue Jackets against the Penguins.

The Blue Jackets are back in action tonight, in St. Louis, at the Enterprise Center at 7:00 pm ET. The next home game back at Nationwide Arena is Tuesday, Oct. 13, when they play host to the Florida Panthers at 6:15 pm ET.