Blue Jackets outlast Penguins in shootout

Columbus Blue Jackets 3, Pittsburgh Penguins 2. The Blue Jackets won it in a shootout Friday night at Nationwide Arena, with Kent Johnson beating goaltender Sergei Murashov for the only goal of the skills competition after regulation and overtime ended tied at two. Read more: Blue Jackets outlast Penguins in shootout.

Murashov, not Arturs Silovs, got the start, and he needed every save he made. Columbus outshot Pittsburgh 45-22, and Murashov turned away 43 of those shots for a .956 save percentage. Only two pucks beat him across 65 minutes, both within the first 32 minutes of the game.

Damon Severson opened the scoring 10:52 into the first period, snapping a shot past Murashov off a cross-ice feed from Zach Werenski, with Cole Sillinger also drawing an assist. Mathieu Olivier made it 2-0 at 11:40 of the second period, again assisted by Severson and Sillinger.

Bryan Rust answered for Pittsburgh before the second intermission, converting a feed from Samuel Girard at 14:30 to make it 2-1. Evgeni Malkin tied it 3:19 into the third period, deflecting Erik Karlsson's shot past Cam Talbot for his third goal in five games this season.

Neither team scored in overtime, and Talbot stopped all three Pittsburgh shootout attempts before Johnson beat Murashov to end it.

Faceoffs explain the gap

The shot gap traces back to the faceoff circle. Columbus won 30 of 45 draws, 66.7 percent, and used that possession to keep pucks and bodies in Pittsburgh's end for long stretches. Both power plays went scoreless, Pittsburgh 0 for 2 and Columbus 0 for 4, so five-on-five puck control, not special teams, decided who did the shooting.

Werenski logged a game-high 29:36 of ice time and set up Severson's opening goal, part of a night Columbus controlled the pace from the blue line.

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Columbus also piled up 21 hits to Pittsburgh's nine and finished with four fewer penalty minutes, four to eight. Pittsburgh blocked 19 shots to Columbus's 14, crowding the shooting lanes in front of Murashov all night.

Columbus leads the season series 1-0, with three more meetings between the two teams still to come this season.

"He was awesome. Just really steady and made some big saves for us," said Sidney Crosby, Penguins forward, of Murashov's night.

Murashov was named the game's third star, an unusual honor for a goaltender on the losing side, with Severson and Johnson taking the first two for Columbus.

Muse credits third period

The result leaves Pittsburgh at 2-2-1 for five points, one ahead of Columbus at 2-1-0. The loss followed a 5-3 defeat at Washington two nights earlier, a game that ended in regulation.

"I think the third period we got to our game," said Dan Muse, Penguins head coach, pointing to the period Pittsburgh played its best hockey. Pittsburgh needed a near-perfect night from its goaltender just to force overtime.

Rakell and Kindel were both stopped by Talbot in the shootout, and Chinakhov's attempt sailed high. Pittsburgh left Nationwide Arena with one point instead of two, in a game Murashov nearly won by himself.