Pittsburgh @ Columbus preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 5, 2019 ) Columbus 2, Pittsburgh 7

Evgeni Malkin hasn't shied away from the pressure that comes with attempting to overcome the loss of injured superstar captain Sidney Crosby. He has embraced it. Malkin and the Pittsburgh Penguins look to continue their strong play on Friday when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets.

"We have a couple of bad injuries right now, and I understand it's my time. I try to do my best. ... It's a fun game right now for me," Malkin said after collecting two goals and three assists in Pittsburgh's 8-6 victory versus Vancouver on Wednesday. The 33-year-old Russian has recorded 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in Crosby's eight-game injury absence, boosting his point total to 173 (70 goals, 103 assists) in 128 contests without the fellow Hart Trophy recipient in the lineup. The Penguins have won three in a row and have at least a point in six straight (4-0-2) heading into the tilt versus a Columbus team that drew the ire of fiery coach John Tortorella on Wednesday. "We dumbed ourselves into a loss," Tortorella said after a 3-2, penalty-filled setback to Philadelphia. "It's frustrating. I'm frustrated for them because you just don't give yourself a chance."

TV: 7 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Pittsburgh, TVAS, FS Ohio (Columbus)

ABOUT THE PENGUINS (14-7-4): Malkin has recorded multi-point performances in six of his dozen games since returning from a lower-body sustained in Pittsburgh's 7-2 romp over Columbus on Oct. 5. While Malkin's five-point effort was his first since March 20, 2012, linemates Jake Guentzel (two goals, two assists) and Bryan Rust (one goal, three assists) did quite nicely for themselves as well on Wednesday as Pittsburgh erased a three-goal deficit with five unanswered tallies. "We love our resilience that this group shows. It's just a never-say-day attitude," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said.

ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (10-10-4): Captain Nick Foligno scored his second goal of the season on Wednesday and first since Oct. 7, but his offense was not the topic of conversation after the setback to the Flyers. "This is not going to be the recipe for winning," the 32-year-old said after his team surrendered five power plays. "It's going to be a long year if we go down that road, and we'd better catch ourselves here Friday against a really good team." Defenseman Seth Jones scored his second goal in three contests on an assist from Oliver Bjorkstrand, who carries a five-game point streak (two goals, six assists) into Friday's outing.

OVERTIME

1. Columbus has scored the first goal in nine consecutive games.

2. Penguins C Jared McCann, who has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in his last 11 contests, scored two goals and set up another in the previous encounter versus the Blue Jackets.

3. Columbus C Emil Benstrom has seven points (three goals, four assists) in his past nine games.

PREDICTION: Blue Jackets 4, Penguins 2