Blue Jackets 3, Penguins 2: Johnson's Shootout, Talbot's Debut

October 9, 2026 - Columbus - Kent Johnson went first in the shootout and scored. That was the only puck that went in. Cam Talbot stopped Rickard Rakell, Egor Chinakhov, and Ben Kindel. Sergei Murashov stopped Conor Garland and Charlie Coyle after the lead was already 1-0. Sidney Crosby did not take a shot. Dan Muse told NHL.com Sid is definitely in the mix, and that the call was for right now.

The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 in a shootout. Columbus is 2-1-0. Pittsburgh is 2-2-1, three straight losses (0-2-1) after opening 2-0-0. Shots were 45-22 Columbus. The Associated Press recap had Columbus winning 66.7 percent of faceoffs and outhitting Pittsburgh 21-9. Pittsburgh blocked 20 shots. Attendance was 17,057. The NHL recap called it the fifth straight game between these clubs decided past regulation.

Talbot stopped 20 of 22 in 65:00 in his Columbus debut. Damon Severson had a goal and an assist in his season debut. Mathieu Olivier scored. Cole Sillinger had two assists. Johnson's regulation line was blank. He still decided it. Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust scored for Pittsburgh. Murashov stopped 43 of 45, including 23 in the second, the NHL recap said, and took the overtime loss. Talbot, Murashov, Severson, Olivier, Sillinger, Garland, and Coyle are not seeded on AthX player pages, so those names stay unlinked.

2-0 on Severson's night back, then Rust around him

Talbot signed a one-year, $950,000 contract on Sept. 14 after two seasons in Detroit, the NHL recap said. He told that wrap he tried to keep focus, talk a lot, play the puck, and handle whatever came. The guys, he said, controlled the pace from pretty much start to finish. Rick Bowness called him a veteran who knows how to keep himself in the game. He faced three shots in the first.

Severson had missed the first two games after shoulder surgery on April 2. He one-timed Zach Werenski's cross-ice pass from the left circle at 10:52. Sillinger the other assist. 1-0. Severson told NHL.com he was still figuring out the game and tried to keep it simple, then got a backdoor from Werenski.

Olivier made it 2-0 at 11:40 of the second, a shot from the right circle that went in off Murashov's skate at the right post, that recap said. Same helpers: Severson and Sillinger.

Rust cut it to 2-1 at 14:30. He went around Severson and tucked it around Talbot's left pad. Samuel Girard the assist. Rust has scored in consecutive games after missing the first three with an upper-body injury. Murashov told NHL.com it was hard to turn the game around, and that Rusty's goal let them come back and get a point.

Malkin off Karlsson, 43 saves, still one point

Malkin tied it at 3:19 of the third. Erik Karlsson's slap shot deflected off Olivier's stick, hit Malkin, and fluttered through traffic, the NHL recap said. Crosby said they got a big goal from Rusty, then Gino, and found their game later. Muse said Murashov made huge saves and did his part, and that you cannot just play for 20 minutes after spending the first two periods defending.

Overtime was empty. Murashov stopped three more. Talbot stopped four. Johnson's snap opened the shootout. Rakell, Chinakhov, Kindel: saves. Garland and Coyle: saves. 3-2 Columbus.

The NHL recap notes Talbot (39 years, 96 days) became the oldest goaltender to win with Columbus, past Fredrik Norrena (34 years, 336 days on Oct. 30, 2008), and the first in NHL history to win with nine franchises. Werenski played 29:36 with an assist, three shots, and three blocks. Severson played 22:20. Murashov played all 65:00. Pittsburgh put three shots on Talbot in the first, seven in the second, eight in the third, four in overtime. Columbus put 9, 24, 9, and 3 on Murashov.

Pittsburgh hosts Dallas on Saturday. Columbus visits St. Louis the same night.

AthX Engine on 43 saves and a shootout win

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) scored Murashov at 15.30 (43 saves, two goals against, overtime-loss credit). Severson is 8.80. Talbot is 8.60. Olivier is 6.40. Sillinger is 6.20. Werenski is 5.80. Malkin is 5.80. Rust is 5.20. Johnson's regulation card is empty. The shootout winner is the story, not extra fantasy points on the skater table.

Columbus's team line is 16.60. Pittsburgh keeps 7.40 for the overtime loss.

Fantasy points measure the box. Price is what traders will pay for a 43-save night that still lost a shootout, and for Talbot after a win with a ninth franchise. They are not the same number.

Track Johnson, Malkin, Crosby, and both clubs on the marketplace.

*Sources: AP recap (ESPN), ESPN box score, NHL.com recap, NHL.com scoreboard. AthX Engine fantasy points scored from NHL gamecenter boxscore 2026020068. Information only; not financial advice.*