Crosby and the Penguins visit the Blue Jackets
Pittsburgh Penguins (36-22-9, sixth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (37-27-3, ninth in the Eastern Conference)
Columbus, Ohio; Saturday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Sidney Crosby leads Pittsburgh into a matchup with Columbus. He's fourth in the NHL with 87 points, scoring 31 goals and totaling 56 assists.
The Blue Jackets are 23-17-1 in Eastern Conference games. Columbus has surrendered 28 power-play goals, killing 84.1 percent of opponent opportunities.
The Penguins are 12-7-2 against the rest of their division. Pittsburgh is fourth in the Eastern Conference averaging 5.9 assists per game, led by Crosby with 0.9. In their last meeting on March 7, Pittsburgh won 3-0.
TOP PERFORMERS: Artemi Panarin leads the Blue Jackets with 73 total points, scoring 25 goals and registering 48 assists. Zachary Werenski has recorded five assists and totaled 5 points over the last 10 games for Columbus.
LAST 10 GAMES: Penguins: 6-2-2, averaging 10 points, 3.6 goals, 6.4 assists, 4.4 penalties and 12.4 penalty minutes while giving up three goals per game with a .909 save percentage.
Blue Jackets: 4-6-0, averaging 5.4 points, 1.9 goals, 3.5 assists, 3.2 penalties and 7.8 penalty minutes while giving up 2.6 goals per game with a .902 save percentage.
Blue Jackets Injuries: None listed.
Penguins Injuries: Bryan Rust: out (lower body), Chad Ruhwedel: out (upper body).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by HERO Sports, and data from Sportradar.