PITTSBURGH _ Tristan Jarry got his third shutout in four starts Thursday and Bryan Rust scored the game-winning goal with one minute, 58 seconds remaining in overtime as the Penguins beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 1-0, at PPG Paints Arena.
Late in a 4-on-3 power play for the Penguins, the puck bounced to Rust, who whacked it on goal. It somehow made it through Joonas Korpisalo to win it.
Jarry was making his second start in a row and fourth in five games. He gave up three goals in Tuesday's 4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens at PPG Paints Arena. Prior to that, the 24-year-old had posted shutouts in back-to-back starts, helping him set on Tuesday the franchise record for the longest shutout streak.
He bailed his teammates out early in the first period when they got caught in a line change. Oliver Bjorkstrand broke in on a breakaway but Jarry held his ground, stretching out his left leg to deny Bjorkstrand, who couldn't lift his shot.
Jarry could have strung a hammock up on the goal frame and taken a nice snooze for the next hour or so. The Penguins dominated the first two periods, putting 18 shots on goal compared to 11 for the Blue Jackets. They would have had many more had those pesky kids from Columbus stopped getting in the way.
The Blue Jackets blocked 14 shots through two periods and the Penguins missed on seven other attempts. When shots did get through to Korpisalo, he was sharp. The goalie got his blocker on Teddy Blueger's blast from the slot during the first and fought off Dominik Kahun's rising shot on a 2-on-1 in the second.
The Penguins dodged a bullet late in the second period. Chad Ruhwedel whiffed on a shot attempt and then tripped over the blue line while racing Sonny Milano to the loose puck. Marcus Pettersson raced back to pull Milano down.
Instead of awarding Milano a penalty shot, the officials called a tripping minor on Pettersson. The Penguins killed it with ease, keeping it 0-0 through two.
Jarry had to look alert a few minutes into the third period when Blueger _ the last man back _ got spun around, allowing the Blue Jackets to get another breakaway. This time it was Pierre-Luc Dubois who charged in alone on Jarry. Dubois deked the goalie before going to his backhand. Jarry got his glove on that shot.
Less than two minutes later, Bjorkstrand got a step on Kris Letang and cut in on Jarry. Jarry, sliding from his left to the right, smothered that one, too.
Blueger got a breakaway with nine minutes left in regulation but couldn't tuck it around Korpisalo. That was one of a few chances Blueger couldn't bury.
With Evgeni Malkin ill, Jake Guentzel centers the top line vs. Columbus
The game went into overtime, and the Penguins would win it with 23 seconds left on the power play after Dubois was called for slashing the stick of Letang.
The Penguins on Thursday were without Evgeni Malkin, who missed the game due to an illness. Malkin and Sidney Crosby have both had extended absences this season, the latter currently recovering after undergoing sports hernia surgery last month. But this was the first time both were sidelined simultaneously.
With another skilled center, Nick Bjugstad, out of the lineup since Nov. 15, coach Mike Sullivan surprisingly subbed in Jake Guentzel as his first-line center.
Guentzel had experience at center before turning pro and the Penguins gave him an audition there in the 2017-18 season before they acquired Derick Brassard at the trade deadline. Since then, Guentzel has settled in as one of the NHL's most productive wingers, with 57 goals and counting the last two seasons.
While he didn't tally a point at 5-on-5, he didn't look out of place in the middle. He held his own on faceoffs, was often in the right spot defensively and when the Penguins got the puck and pushed up the ice, his instincts kicked in.
Sullivan also gave struggling winger Alex Galchenyuk a shot next to Guentzel on the top line. Galchenyuk, who had two goals in his first 22 games in Pittsburgh, had essentially been playing fourth-line minutes the last two weeks.
Galchenyuk got a few good looks in the first 30 minutes of the game before he was bumped back down to the third line in favor of Dominik Simon.
The Penguins are now 2-1 against their Metropolitan Division rivals this season. The Blue Jackets beat them, 5-2, convincingly in Columbus two weeks ago.
The Penguins have won nine straight home games against the Blue Jackets.
The Penguins on Saturday play host to the Los Angeles Kings at PPG Paints Arena before heading out for their three-game road trip through Western Canada.
