Oh, this one… This game might be even more satisfying than the 10-0 win over the Canadiens. What a way to open the season series. The 19,115 specators that filed into Nationwide Arena on Dec. 22 had no idea what they were about to witness.
Sidney Crosby opened up the game with a pretty goal just 2:39 into the game. Over ten minutes later, Cam Atkinson responded on behalf of the Blue Jackets on the power play. The rest of the period was relatively quiet with no goals.
The second period was a bit more positive with the Columbus Blue Jackets. They opened up the scoring again in the period with a confusing goal. William Karlsson looked to have scored judging from the reaction of his teammates and fans but there was no signal for a goal. The horn did not sound until the puck was across rink and the players had continued to skate around. After review, it was confirmed that Karlsson did score by hitting the inner top part of the net. The next goal was not confusing whatsoever. Old man Scott Hartnell chased the puck down the left side of the ice, beat the Penguins defensemen and deked Matt Murray out of his jockstrap for a goal.
Entering the third period, the Jackets had a solid but not too comfortable 3-1 lead. With playmakers such as Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on the other side of the ice, the Penguins can usually not be counted out. Scott Hartnell was not going to let them come back though. Less than three minutes into the final period, Hartnell buried another goal. Immediately afterwards, Brandon Saad scored a goal off the assist from Alexander Wennberg. Just over 30 seconds later, Boone Jenner got in on the action by wristing one in the top left of the net. Matt Murray was replaced following the sixth goal. Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh’s replacement goaltender, faced just five shots while he was in. Unfortunately for him, Scott Hartnell wanted a hat trick. Hartnell buried his third goal of the game to stretch the CBJ lead to 7-1.