The Pittsburgh Penguins host the Columbus Blue Jackets in a rivalry game. Welcome back to NHL Predictions here with Last Word On Hockey! Each day, we provide in-depth analysis, insights, and predictions for games around the NHL. In tonight’s matchup, Pittsburgh and Columbus jockey for positioning in the Eastern Conference Stanley Cup Playoff race.
NHL Predictions: Columbus Blue Jackets vs Pittsburgh Penguins
Head-to-Head: Blue Jackets 1 – 2 Penguins
Time: 7:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
Penguins Story
The Penguins come into this game off 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. With the win, the Penguins have points in back-to-back games, and are 7-2-1 in their last 10. With a record of 22-14-10, Pittsburgh sits in the third spot in the Metropolitan Division, just a couple of points behind the New York Islanders. The Penguins have been playing stellar defence, and are one of the best teams defensively since the Holiday break. This has been a team effort from throughout the lineup, paying off in tight games with fewer goals against.
The Penguins put on an offensive show against the Flyers. Every single forward in the lineup recorded at least one point in the game. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Thomas Novak recorded two. In the absence of Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang has slotted back in as the top offensive defenceman for the Penguins. Having played that role for over a decade before Karlsson’s arrival, Letang is no stranger to pitching in offensively. He recorded an assist against the Flyers and all-round generated a ton of chances against Philadelphia. Against a stingy Columbus team, the Penguins as a whole will need to continue playing good team defence while looking for offence.
The Penguins have been operating their goaltenders on a rotational basis. With Stuart Skinner starting against Philadelphia, expect Arturs Silovs to play against Columbus. Silovs is 8-6-7 this season with an .892 save percentage. However, he’s 3-1-1 in his last five, and has shown an ability to keep games close.
LIZZO 😤 pic.twitter.com/KspMRJanIX
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 16, 2026
Flyers Story
This has been an up-and-down season for the Columbus Blue Jackets. They come into this game having won three straight, but lost the four prior games before that. With a record of 5-4-1 in their last 10, and 21-19-7 on the season, the Blue Jackets sit tied with the Ottawa Senators for the second-worst record in the East, just three points ahead of the New York Rangers. While Columbus’ power play has been fine, ranking 15th in the league, their penalty kill has been awful, ranking 29th, with a success rate of just 74.2%. Against the Penguins’ second-best ranked power play, Columbus will need to play disciplined hockey to ensure they don’t put themselves into trouble.
Kirill Marchenko continues to impress, scoring a goal and an assist in their win against Vancouver on Thursday night. He has 17 goals and 40 points through 43 games this season. The Blue Jackets have otherwise struggled to get offence from their forward group. Charlie Coyle, Dmitri Voronkov, and Adam Fantilli are tied for second in forward scoring with just 30 points apiece. Fantilli, Cole Sillinger and Kent Johnson, all high-ranking draft picks, have been especially disappointing given their draft positions. Sillinger has recorded just five goals and 20 points in 46 games, while Johnson has just five goals and 14 points in 46 games. A bright spot for the team, however, has been their star defenceman Zach Werenski. Werenski has established himself as a premier defenceman in the league, scoring 18 goals and 51 points through 43 games. He’ll be an important factor against the Penguins.
Expect Jett Greaves to start in net. Greaves has gone 14-12-6 this season with a .908 save percentage. He’s been a solid backstop for the struggling squad.
NHL Prediction
Although the Blue Jackets are on an upswing, they’ve struggled against the Penguins for years. Even with a record of 1-2-1 in their last four, Pittsburgh has been a solid team building momentum and confidence. Expect the Penguins to come away with a victory in this one.
Prop Bet of the Night
The Penguins and the Blue Jackets tend to have high scoring games, with that a popular prop bet of goals over seven with odds of +142 is a good bet.
Main Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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