Pittsburgh @ Columbus preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 7, 2019 ) Columbus 0, Pittsburgh 3

The Pittsburgh Penguins aim to continue their mastery of the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday when the Metropolitan Division rivals conclude a home-and-home series at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The Penguins posted their third straight win over the Blue Jackets this season and eighth in a row overall versus the club with a 3-0 triumph on Thursday.

"Every game we play them is a hard-fought battle. The margin for error is slim. ... Fortunately, we're finding ways to win," said Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan, who saw his team improve to 8-2-2 in its last 12 to better its odds toward securing a 13th straight postseason appearance. Superstar captain Sidney Crosby sealed Thursday's victory by scoring into an empty net to extend his goal-scoring streak to six games. While the Penguins have received consistent offense in that stretch, the Blue Jackets are mired in a 124:08 scoreless drought and have lost four of their last six to tumble to the wrong side of the postseason picture. "Scoring and not scoring are both contagious. All of us are obviously a little snake-bit right now. I have no explanation for it. We just have to work through it," prize trade acquisition Matt Duchene said.

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

ABOUT THE PENGUINS (36-22-9): Phil Kessel snapped a career-high 16-game goal drought in the first period, but not before receiving an unexpected -- but greatly appreciated -- pick-me-up from the crowd at PPG Paints Arena after narrowly missing a chance to end the skid earlier in the contest. "The fans and city have been great to me since I've been here. I love playing here, I have unbelievable memories here," said the 31-year-old Kessel, who has collected eight goals and eight assists against Columbus in 15 career games since joining Pittsburgh. Kessel is set to skate in his 314th consecutive game on Saturday, which would pass Ron Schock for sole possession of second place on the franchise's all-time list (Craig Adams, 319).

ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (37-27-3): Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to answer a night off by being back in net versus Pittsburgh, against which the two-time Vezina Trophy recipient owns an 11-8-5 career mark. Artemi Panarin, who has 15 points (nine goals, six assists) in 11 career games versus the Penguins, matched Josh Anderson with a team-high four shots on goal Thursday and equaled Boone Jenner with a club-best seven hits. Cam Atkinson, who tallied in each of the first two meetings with Pittsburgh this season, resides one point shy of the career high of 62 he set over 82 games during the 2016-17 season.

OVERTIME

1. Pittsburgh G Matt Murray recorded 25 saves on Thursday to improve to a sterling 8-1-1 with a .913 save percentage in 10 career encounters versus the Blue Jackets.

2. The Penguins own a 26-8-4 all-time mark against the Blue Jackets, including 11-4-4 in Columbus.

3. The Blue Jackets have killed off 64 of the last 70 power plays by their opponents.

PREDICTION: Blue Jackets 5, Penguins 2