Tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET, the Columbus Blue Jackets (5-6-0, 10 points) and Pittsburgh Penguins (9-4-0, 18 points) go head-to-head live from the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. The game can be live streamed here. Columbus fans can hear all the action by tuning their radios to Sportsradio 97.1 The Fan while Pittsburgh fans can do the same on 105.9 WXDX-FM.
The Penguins enter play on top of the Metropolitan Division while their rival Blue Jackets are in fourth place and eight points back but can make up some serious ground as this is the first game of a home-and-home as the two teams play again Saturday night at Nationwide Arena in Columbus. This weekend marks the first and second of five games between these two teams this year.
The Penguins are coming off of a bit of a revenge game over the Boston Bruins, who defeated Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference Finals but fell to the Pens 3-2 Wednesday.
"I think the intensity and the atmosphere, I'm not sure it was quite April and May and June," coach Dan Bylsma said per NHL.com. "But it certainly was a good match for a Wednesday Night Rivalry game in October."
Reigning Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky let up four goals on 32 shots in Columbus' most recent loss to the Anaheim Ducks Sunday that finished in a 4-3 result.
"The guys played very well in front of me once again," Bobrovsky said in The Columbus Dispatch. "I have to be better. But I'll move forward."
Bobrovsky is 4-6-0 on the season with a 2.60 goals-against average and .916 save percentage this season. Marc-Andre Fleury usually mans the crease for the Penguins most nights and is tied for the league-lead with nine wins while boasting a 9-2-0 record while his 1.81 GAA ranks sixth in the league and he's added a .927 save percentage.
Bobrovsky is likely to have his hands full with the high octane Pittsburgh offense, which is led by Sidney Crosby, who leads the league with 21 points and is second with 13 assists while adding eight goals thus far. Behind him, Chris Kunitz has 13 points off of six goals and seven assists while Evgeni Malkin(three goals, seven assists) and Pascal Dupuis (two tallies, eight helpers) each have 10 points.
Marian Gaborik has led the Blue Jackets with 10 points off of five goals and five assists while Artem Anisimov scored twice--including once shorthanded--in the team's last game.
Columbus looks to make up some ground on their new division foes while Pittsburgh hopes to keep a stranglehold over the division when these two teams hit the ice at Consol Energy Center tonight.
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