Columbus Blue Jackets vs Pittsburgh Penguins: Game preview, predictions and odds | January 7, 2025

The Columbus Blue Jackets are on the road to face the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET.

Columbus (17-17-6) is coming off a 6-4 home win over St. Louis on Saturday while Pittsburgh (17-17-7) lost 4-3 in overtime on the road against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.

Blue Jackets vs Penguins: Hed-to-head & key stats

• Columbus is 17-29-0-9 all-time against Pittsburgh
• The Blue Jackets are averaging 3.37 goals per game
• The Penguins are averaging 3.02 goals per game
• Columbus is allowing 3.62 goals per game
• Pittsburgh is allowing 3.63 goals per game
• The Blue Jackets are 4-12-3 on the road
• The Penguins are 11-7-2 at home

Columbus Blue Jackets vs Pittsburgh Penguins: Preview

Columbus has won three of its last five games. The Blue Jackets are led by Zach Werenski's 45 points, Kirill Marchenko's 43 points, Sean Monahan's 40 points and Dmitri Voronkov's 26 points.

Columbus will start Elvis Merzlikins who is 13-10-3 with a 3.18 GAA and a .888 SV%. Merzlikins is 2-6 with a 3.78 GAA and a .896 SV% in his career against the Penguins.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh is on a three-game losing streak. The Penguins will start Tristan Jarry who is 8-6-3 with a 3.47 GAA and a .886 SV%. In his career against the Blue Jackets, he is 8-2-1 with a 2.63 GAA and a .916 SV%.

Pittsburgh is led by Sidney Crosby who has 42 points, Rickard Rakell with 33 points, Evgeni Malkin with 32 points, Bryan Rust with 29 points and Erik Karlsson with 28 points.

Blue Jackets vs Penguins: Odds & Prediction

Columbus is a +120 underdog while Pittsburgh is a -142 favorite. The over/under is set at 6.5 goals.

The Penguins may be on a losing skid, but at home against Columbus, they are in a good spot to snap it.

This should be a high-scoring game as both goalies have struggled at times, while both offenses can score plenty of goals. Ultimately, expect Pittsburgh to edge out a home win.

Prediction: Penguins 4, Blue Jackets 3.

Blue Jackets vs Penguins: Betting Tips

Tip 1: Pittsburgh ML (-142)

Tip 2: Over 6.5 goals (-125)

Tip 3: Rickard Rakell 3+ shots on goal (-115)