The Columbus Blue Jackets return to their home ice for one night only in a Metropolitan Division battle with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The first regular season matchup of three is tonight at Nationwide Arena at 7pm from the NHL Network; FDSNOH; and SN-PIT. This is the only visit by Pittsburgh at Nationwide this year, as the next two are both in Pittsburgh.

This is the third time for some players on the roster this season to face each other as Columbus and Pittsburgh had two preseason games against each other. Since I was and still am in the midst of personal matters, I never discussed the moves Pittsburgh made this summer, but some of the moves are being already starting to be undone as the management announced they are making everyone available but Crosby.

Update 2:30pm

Pittsburgh made a lineup change as Kris Letang out with illness; Jack St. Ivany in lineup; Owen Pickering recall from AHL.

Out

F Reilly Smith was traded to the New York Rangers for draft pick compensation.

Columbus legend Jeff Carter announced his retirement from hockey to become a dad.

F Lukas Svejkovsky was traded to Tampa Bay.

D Jack Rathbone signed with Buffalo.

F Jansen Harkins signed with Anaheim.

D Pierre-Olivier Joseph was unqualified and joined St. Louis.

F Vinnie Hinostroza signed with Nashville.

F Jordan Frasca was dealt to Nashville.

F Brayden Yager was traded to Winnipeg.

F Maxim Cajkovic, Radim Zohorna, and Dillon Hamaliuk; and D Dmitri Samorukov headed back to Europe.

In

F Bennett MacArthur was acquired via trade from Tampa Bay.

Forwards Blake Lizotte; Anthony Beauvillier; Boko Imama; and Jimmy Huntington signed as free agents.

Dedenders Mac Hollowell; Matt Grzelyck; Nate Clurman; Sebastian Aho signed contracts in free agency.

F Cody Glass was acquired by Nashville with picks.

F Kevin Hayes was acquired via trade from St. Louis with picks for future considerations.

F Rutger McGroarty was acquired by trade from the Winnipeg Jets.

Preview

The sun is setting in Pittsburgh. The rebuild is starting. Lars Eller was traded days ago by the Penguins to reunite with his old Washington teammates. A 7-1 loss at home is a terrible look, and management is owning that.

Columbus is looking to avoid a seventh consecutive loss. They are also on their third back to back and final of the month. Tonight, they are home; and tomorrow to travel while Dave Matthews Band rocks Nationwide on their fall 2024 tour.

The Jackets are debuting new lines and pairs up and down the roster. Expect Elvis Merzlikins to man the cage for the host team against the recently promoted Tristan Jarry.

Projected Lineups

Pittsburgh Penguins

Anthony Beauvillier -- Sidney Crosby -- Rickard Rakell

Michael Bunting -- Evgeni Malkin -- Bryan Rust

Jesse Puljujarvi -- Drew O’Connor -- Sam Poulin

Matthew Nieto -- Noel Acciari -- Valtteri Puustinen

Marcus Pettersson -- Erik Karlsson

Matt Grzelcyk -- Jack St. Ivany

Ryan Graves -- Ryan Shea

Tristan Jarry

Alex Nedeljkovic

Scratched: Vasiliy Ponomarev, Owen Pickering

Injured: Kevin Hayes (upper body), Cody Glass (concussion), Blake Lizotte (concussion), Kris Letang (illness)

Columbus Blue Jackets

Dmitry Voronkov—Sean Monahan—Kirill Marchenko
Cole Sillinger—Adam Fantilli—Yegor Chinakhov
Mikael Pyyhtia—Justin Danforth—Mathieu Olivier
Zach Aston-Reese—Sean Kuraly—Kevin Labanc

Zach Werenski—Dante Fabbro
Ivan Provorov—Damon Severson
Jake Christiansen—Jordan Harris

Merzlikins
Tarasov

Scratched — James van Riemsdyk, David Jiricek, Jack Johnson

Injured — Kent Johnson, Boone Jenner, Gavin Brindley, Erik Gudbranson

Players to Watch

Pittsburgh — Sidney Crosby — besides being on my fantasy team, the first class Hall of Famer is 2 goals away from 600 for his career.

Columbus — Sean Monahan — also on my fantasy team, the center is one assist away from career number 300; one point away from 550.

Predicted Final Score

PIT — 3

CBJ — 4

Gambling Corner

Pittsburgh is the favorites at a -130. Columbus is +110. If the Jackets win, extra $10 for a beer or tenders.

More to come… Habs preview…