The Columbus Blue Jackets traveled to Pittsburgh for a Friday game against the Penguins. The Blue Jackets were coming off an overtime loss at home to Florida the night before. The one point helped, but Columbus is slipping further from a wild card spot and needed a win against the Pens. Unfortunately, that did not happen as the Jackets fell behind 3-1 after one period and never recovered, losing 6-3.

Elvis Merzlikins was back in goal after a solid performance against the Panthers, but the Penguins were able to get behind the Columbus defense consistently in the first period with goals from Evgeni Malkin, Noel Acciari, and Rickard Rakell. A bright spot for the Blue Jackets came when captain Boone Jenner scored his first goal of the season in the opening period. Jenner missed the team’s first 56 games with a shoulder injury.

The Blue Jackets gave up two goals in the second period, including Sidney Crosbey’s 25th of the season. Kent Johnson scored his 22nd goal of the campaign early in the third to make it 5-3, but an empty netter from Pittsburgh’s Bryan Rust sealed the game at 6-3, Penguins.

Merzlikins gave up five goals on 33 shots. Alex Nedeljkovic earned the win in goal for Pittsburgh, stopping 44 of 47 shots on goal. The Blue Jackets are three points out of the second wild card spot with 13 games left on their schedule. They head to New York for a game against the Islanders next Monday at 7:30 p.m.