Penguins Hit by ‘Bus…

…Colum-bus. Get it? Har har.

Yes, I know. An exceedingly weak stab at humor. Such is the way of things for an old geezer.

As for the game itself? The homestanding Blue Jackets overcame an early goal by Zach Gallant (who?) to pocket a relatively easy 4-1 victory over a rather green black-and-gold squad at Nationwide Arena last night.

Indeed, while the Pens dressed only a handful of established NHLers—none of the star variety—the CBJ went with pretty much the full monty. Such is the way of things during exhibition play.

Among the particulars:

Despite the discrepancy in talent, the Pens outshot their hosts, 25-24.
Newcomer Arturs Silovs started in net and yielded a pair of goals on 14 shots (an .857 save percentage). Yegor Chinakhov beat him off the transition with a rapier from the left circle late in the first period. Jake Christiansen struck on a long-range, power-play bomb early in the second. Apparently, goals from distance are a Silovs bugaboo.
Filip Larsson came on in relief halfway through the contest and stopped eight of nine shots, yielding a power-play goal to an unfettered Kent Johnson midway through the third.
Ville Koivunen made a nice play on the Pens’ lone goal, pouncing on a loose puck and moving it quickly to Gallant. There’s no denying Ville’s smarts and skill.
Perhaps due to the talent mismatch, coach Dan Muse for the most part employed a lane-clogging 1-2-2, which served to slow the CBJ in the neutral zone. We’ll see what transpires when the big boys join the mix.
First-round pick Ben Kindel had his moments. He was thwarted on a breakaway by Jet Greaves.
Although only credited with one hit, defenseman Connor Clifton’s been physical as advertised. He hasn’t garnered much love in some circles. I, for one, am glad to have him.
Speaking of hits, hulking Justin Brazeau paced the Pens with four. Gallant, Connor Dewar and Jack St. Ivany registered three apiece. Massive d-man Alexander Alexeyev (two hits, two blocked shots) also made his black-and-gold debut.
Mobile defender Caleb Jones recorded four shots on goal and blocked four shots, both team highs. Tristan Broz and Aidan McDonough had three shots apiece, the latter in only 10:40 of ice time.

Goalie Joel Blomqvist is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

On deck, the Red Wings at home on Friday night, followed by the Marc-André Fleury love-fest in a return match with the CBJ on Saturday night.

Rick Buker

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the Other Rick says:

September 25, 2025 at 12:47 pm

Hey Rick,

Silovs performed as I expected. He could not stop much, two Goals on 14 shots. Chinakov is no sniper and his Goal Against Silovs was from the top of the circle with no screen. The shot simply went over his leg pad and underneath his glove. It was not a slap shot, only a wrist shot that Silovs saw all the way, and he let it go by him. It was a very stoppable Goal.

On Chistainsen’s Goal, it was from longer range (the Point) and when Christiansen started to shoot, Silovs had a good view of the shot, however, there did appear to be a moving screen that cut across the crease that could have interrupted concentration. I am not going to say this one was very stoppable even though it was shot from left field. I will say that Silovs could have put himself in a better position to let the shot hit him.

In the end, Silovs performance was as expected, a career 0.880 Sv% Goalie. We didn’t give up much for him, a 4th rnd pick and Chase Stillman but I do wonder why Dubas felt the need to give up even that little when he had Blomqvist and Murashov in the bank.

I did like the move Kindle made to get to the net on that play you described. I give the kid credit. Hopefully, he will figure out how to finish.

I am not sure how I would rate any of the other players when Goaltending was at best questionable. It is a far different game when you are in front or at least can trust your net minder