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National Hockey League
Columbus 3, Pittsburgh 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, April 13, 2023
Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Referees: Jean Hebert, Kevin Pollock
Linesmen: Steve Barton, Andrew Smith
Attendance: 18369

Johnny Gaudreau scored on a breakaway one minute into overtime Thursday to give the Columbus Blue Jackets a 3-2 win over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins, who were playing their season finale.

Andrew Peeke and Emil Bemstrom also scored for the Blue Jackets (25-47-9, 59 points), who are 1-3-1 in their past five. They have one remaining game, Friday at home against Buffalo in a makeup game.

Columbus goaltender Michael Hutchinson stopped 34 shots.

Kris Letang had a goal and an assist, Jake Guentzel also scored, and Sidney Crosby added two assists for the Penguins (40-31-11, 91 points), who closed their season on a 2-2-1 stretch. They were eliminated from the playoffs a night earlier when the New York Islanders clinched the Eastern Conference's final available wild-card berth with a win over Montreal.

This is the first time Pittsburgh has not been in the postseason since 2006. The team's 16-year streak of appearing in the playoffs -- a run that included three Stanley Cup wins -- was the longest active string across all major North American pro sport leagues.

Pittsburgh goaltender Tristan Jarry made 31 saves.

Penguins top-line winger Bryan Rust did not come out for the third period. There was no immediate reason supplied by the team.

Pittsburgh took a 1-0 lead during the only power play of the first period. Letang's shot from the right point went in off Peeke, who was among a handful of players around the crease, at 4:28.

That gave Letang 40 points, making him the fourth active defenseman in the NHL with 10 40-point seasons.

The Blue Jackets tied it 1-1 with the only goal of the second, at 2:12. Hunter McKown won a faceoff and pulled the puck back to Peeke. His blast from the right point sailed past Jarry's glove.

Guentzel broke the tie with a power-play goal at 3:53 of the third. Using Peeke as a screen, his shot from the top of the left circle went inside the far post for his team-leading 36th goal.

With 3:25 left in regulation and on a power play, Bemstrom tied it 2-2 on a backdoor play off a feed from Mikael Pyyhtia.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Pittsburgh   Columbus
Kris Letang 2 Points Emil Bemstrom 1
Kris Letang 1 Goals Emil Bemstrom 1
Sidney Crosby 2 Assists Adam Boqvist 1
Kris Letang 1 Power Play Goals Emil Bemstrom 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Tristan Jarry .912 Save Percentage Michael Hutchinson .944
Tristan Jarry 31 Saves Michael Hutchinson 34
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Pittsburgh 36 2 2-2 3-4 8 28
Columbus 34 3 1-4 0-2 4 28
Upcoming Games
  • Columbus will play their next game at home against Buffalo. The Blue Jackets have a W/L % of .208 after a win and .351 after a loss.