Columbus Blue Jackets vs Pittsburgh Penguins: Game preview, predictions and odds | March 21, 2025

The Columbus Blue Jackets are on the road to play the Pittsburgh Penguins at 7 p.m. ET in the only NHL game on Friday. Columbus (31-28-9) is coming off a 1-0 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh (28-32-10) suffered a 4-2 loss to the New York Islanders.

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

• Columbus is 18-29-0-9 all-time against Pittsburgh
• The Blue Jackets are allowing 3.27 goals per game
• Pittsburgh is 17-14-5 at home
• Columbus is averaging 3.14 goals per game
• The Penguins are allowing 3.55 goals per game
• The Blue Jackets are 11-19-4 on the road
• Pittsburgh is averaging 2.9 goals per game

Columbus Blue Jackets vs Pittsburgh Penguins: Preview

Columbus is on a five-game losing streak and has fallen out of a playoff spot. In those five games, the team has scored just four times, including being shut out three times. The Blue Jackets are led by Zach Werenski, who has 69 points. Kirill Marchenko has 62 points and Kent Johnston has 45.

The Blue Jackets are set to start Daniil Tarasov, who's 7-8-2 with a 3.51 GAA and a .882 SV%. In his career against Pittsburgh, he's 0-1 with a 3.13 GAA and a .917 SV%.

Pittsburgh, meanwhile, had its four-game winning streak snapped last time out. The Penguins will start Alex Nedeljkovic, who's 12-14-5 with a 3.17 GAA and a .891 SV%. In his career against Columbus, he's 4-1-3 with a 2.29 GAA and a .918 SV%.

The Penguins are led by Sidney Crosby, who has 74 points. Rickard Rakell has 59 points, Erik Karlsson has 49 points and Bryan Rust has 49.

Blue Jackets vs Penguins: Odds & Prediction

Columbus is a +105 underdog, while Pittsburgh is a -125 favorite. The over/under is set at 6.5 goals.

The Blue Jackets have struggled as of late, but this is a good spot for them to get back into the win column as an underdog. The Penguins play poorly in goal and defensively, which is a good spot for Columbus to score and get its offense back on track.

Columbus is still competing for a playoff spot, so expect the Blue Jackets to get a big win here.

Prediction: Blue Jackets 4, Penguins 2.

Blue Jackets vs Penguins: Betting Tips

Tip 1: Columbus ML (+105)

Tip 2: Under 6.5 goals (-120)

Tip 3: Zach Werenski 3+ shots on goal (-145)