The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Columbus Blue Jackets are no strangers to putting on thrilling matchups. Friday night was no different.
Those thrilling matchups have led to a bizarre streak of five games dating back to Oct. 25, 2025. That evening, the Penguins and Blue Jackets ended their first of a four-game series in a shootout. The Blue Jackets won when Kirill Marchenko scored the game-winning penalty shot against Arturs Silovs.
In Oct. 2026, Marchenko may be in Toronto, but the Penguins and Blue Jackets’ streak of consecutive games that have ended either in overtime or a shootout continues. In Friday night’s matchup, Columbus came out on top in the shootout. Kent Johnson scored the game-winning and only successful penalty shot of the evening.
Pittsburgh Penguins Keep Forcing Overtime Against The Blue Jackets
The irony? In all five matchups, the Blue Jackets had the lead and the Penguins tied the game. This means Pittsburgh came up big when the stakes were at their highest, forced overtime, and won two of those five contests.
In Friday’s matchup, Columbus led 2-0 before Bryan Rust put the Penguins on the board at the 14:30 mark of the second period. Then Evgeni Malkin deflected one in at the 3:19 mark of the third period to make it 2-2. After the two teams went scoreless for the rest of the third frame and battled to a stalemate in overtime, it was on to the shootout.
As for the previous four, Pittsburgh trailed 4-2 on Oct. 25, 2025, before tying it. Ultimately, the Penguins lost that contest on Marchenko’s shootout goal.
Fast-forward to Nov. 28, and Pittsburgh rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period before Kris Letang won it 59 seconds into overtime.
The Jan. 4, 2026 matchup may be the most memorable. Pittsburgh trailed 4-1 before clawing back with goals from Noah Acciari and Thomas Novak. Rickard Rakell tied it with 14 seconds remaining, and Sidney Crosby drilled the game-winner halfway through overtime.
Just 13 days later, on Jan. 17, Pittsburgh trailed 3-2. But with 1:01 remaining, Crosby again looked on the verge of playing the hero. He tied the game, but the Penguins ultimately lost in the shootout when Charlie Coyle drilled the puck past Arturs Silovs.
Penguins And Blue Jackets May Not Be Finished Yet
Pittsburgh and Columbus will meet three more times this season, with the next matchup coming on Nov. 30. They will face off again twice in Mar. 2027, with the first game on the 16th and the next on the 22nd.
Once mid-to-late March rolls around, Pittsburgh and Columbus could be vying for a playoff spot. That will raise the stakes and make those points earned in overtime and the shootout more valuable. That said, each team would prefer to skate away with two points and inch themselves closer to securing a playoff spot at that point in the season.
If there is another takeaway, it’s that you can’t count Pittsburgh out against Columbus. The Penguins are at their best late in games when they play the Blue Jackets. That has made for incredible hockey the last five times these teams have played against one another.
Pittsburgh Penguins, Blue Jackets Extend Bizarre 5-Game Streak