Columbus blanks Pittsburgh in preseason finale
Valeri Nichushkin scored in his Columbus debut Thursday night, and the Blue Jackets shut out the Penguins 4-0 at Nationwide Arena. Zach Werenski, Kirill Marchenko and Danton Heinen also found the net, giving Columbus a complete performance to close its preseason schedule.
Nichushkin arrives in Columbus after years with the Colorado Avalanche, where he won a Stanley Cup in 2022 before a substance-abuse suspension sidelined him for long stretches of the past two seasons. A goal in his first outing with a new franchise is a small marker, but it gives the Blue Jackets exactly the story they wanted heading into opening week: proof that the addition can still finish plays at NHL speed.
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Werenski and Marchenko carry the usual weight
Werenski and Marchenko remain the engine of this Columbus roster, and both were on the scoresheet again against Pittsburgh. The Blue Jackets have built their identity over the past two seasons around Werenski’s minutes on the blue line and Marchenko’s finishing, and a shutout with four different goal scorers suggests the depth around them is growing too. Danton Heinen’s goal added a fourth contributor, spreading the offense across the lineup rather than leaning on one line.
Pittsburgh managed nothing past Columbus goaltending and heads into the regular season still searching for answers on a roster in transition. A scoreless night against a divisional rival is not the finish the Penguins wanted from their preseason slate.
What it means going forward
Preseason results rarely carry over directly, but a shutout built on secondary scoring is exactly what a team wants to see before the games start counting. For Columbus, the question now is whether Nichushkin can stay healthy and productive across 82 games, something he has not managed since his Cup-winning year in Colorado.
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