Columbus Blue Jackets vs Pittsburgh Penguins 10/22/22 NHL Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Columbus Blue Jackets meet in NHL action from Nationwide Arena on Saturday night.

The Pittsburgh Penguins will look to build on their 3-1 start to the year after a 6-1 victory over the Kings in their last game. Sidney Crosby has a team-high 6 points with 2 goals and a team-high 4 assists while Bryan Rust has 5 points with 2 goals and 3 assists. Jake Guentzel and Evgeni Malkin each have 4 points with Guentzel logging 2 goals and 2 assists while Malkin has 3 goals. Jeff Carter, Danton Heinen and Jason Zucker each have 3 points with a goal and a pair of assists while Kris Letang has 3 assists as well on the year. Tristan Jarry has gone 3-0 with a 1.34 GAA and a .952 save percentage while Casey DeSmith is 0-0-1 with a 2.85 GAA and a .923 save percentage this season.

The Columbus Blue Jackets will look to build on back-to-back wins, improving to 2-3 on the year after a 5-3 win over Nashville last time out. Johnny Gaudreau has a team-high 6 points with a team-high 4 goals and a pair of assists while Yegor Chinakhov has 4 assists. Jakub Voracek and Boone Jenner each have 3 assists while Justin Danforth and Gustav Nyquist each have 3 points with a pair of goals. Elvis Merzlikins has gone 2-1 with a 3.60 GAA and an .872 save percentage while Daniil Tarasov has gone 0-2 with a 4.50 GAA and an .890 save percentage in goal for Columbus this year.

I get the case to be made for a home underdog in some spots, but this isn’t one of them. The Blue Jackets just seem to look lost without Patrik Laine in the fold, and that’s not good considering he’s going to be out a few more weeks. The Blue Jackets just haven’t been able to secure consistent goaltending and the one thing that is consistent is that the goaltending can’t keep the puck out of the net. The Penguins had a dud on the road earlier this year, but other than that they’ve been playing some of the best offensive hockey in the NHL and I just don’t think the Blue Jackets can keep up here. Give me Pittsburgh.