Alex Nedeljkovic strong in net as Penguins turn back Blue Jackets

Mike Sullivan wants to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets each and every time he encounters them.

After all, he coaches the Pittsburgh Penguins and they are Metropolitan Division rivals.

But like just about anyone with a soul, Sullivan harbors veneration for the Blue Jackets in how they’ve mustered up enough backbone to remain competitive throughout the season following the shocking deaths of superstar forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, in late August, a few weeks before the opening of the 2024-25 campaign.

“They deserve an awful of credit for how hard they’ve played and through a challenging time,” Sullivan said Thursday in Cranberry. “That’s never an easy circumstance. I’m sure in a lot of ways — it appears on the outside — they chose to utilize a very difficult circumstance as a rallying cry. I know how popular Johnny Gaudreau was with his teammates in Columbus.

“Those players and the coaching staff and management team in Columbus deserve an enormous amount of credit for how they’ve chosen to approach a very difficult circumstance.”

The Penguins were able to overcome the determined but depleted Blue Jackets on Friday at PPG Paints Arena with a 6-3 victory.

Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, appearing in his first game since March 7, was busy as he unofficially stopped 45 of 48 shots as his record improved to 13-14-5.

Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin opened the scoring 5 minutes, 28 seconds into regulation with his 14th goal of the season.

Accepting a pass at the right point of the offensive zone, Penguins defenseman Kris Letang lobbed a wrister wide of the cage on the near side. The puck bounced off the end boards and deflected to the lower rim of the left circle, where Penguins forward Connor Dewar darted in and swept in a forehand shot toward the crease. Linemate Philip Tomasino crashed in and inadvertently deflected the puck with his stick blade to the right of the blue paint. Thumping his left shoulder into Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski, Malkin jabbed the rebound with a backhander by goaltender Elvis Merzlikins’ left skate on the near side.

The hosts doubled their lead when forward Noel Acciari accrued his fifth goal at 13:51 of the first period.

Utilizing a power move off the right wing, linemate Blake Lizotte barged in from the left wing but lost possession of the puck. During the ensuing chaos, Acciari, stationed above the crease, calmly swatted in a backhander off the rebound.

Only 16 seconds later, Blue Jackets forward Boone Jenner struck with his first goal of the season with a deflection of a shot by defenseman Denton Mateychuk.

The Penguins responded a mere 46 seconds later via forward Rickard Rakell’s team-leading 32nd goal off a precision passing sequence involving linemates Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust.

Blue Jackets forward Justin Danforth was credited with his eighth goal 1:35 into the second period after Penguins defenseman Conor Timmins inadvertently pushed a loose puck into the Penguins’ net.

An unlikely source supplied the Penguins with offense when forward Boko Imama scored his first goal of the season and second of his career at 8:15 of the second period.

Penguins forward Kevin Hayes won a draw in the Blue Jackets’ left circle, allowing linemate Danton Heinen to claim possession. Curling toward the near corner, Heinen slipped a clever pass to the back to the circle, where Imama — who fought Olivier earlier in the contest — snapped an immediate wrister by Merzlikins’ blocker on the near side.

A more likely source supplied the Penguins with more offense when Crosby scored his 25th goal at 15:30 of the middle frame.

Off a defensive-zone turnover by Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson, Penguins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk accepted the charity at the center point and lobbed a precise shot/pass toward the net. Crosby identified Grzelcyk’s intentions and deftly deflected the puck from the right of the crease.

After Blue Jackets forward Kent Johnson scored his 22nd goal 3:45 into the third period, Rust capped the scoring with his 23rd goal on an empty net at the 18:03 mark.

Note: Penguins forward Matt Nieto was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.