Penguins finish preseason by beating Blue Jackets

Seth Rorabaugh | Friday, October 4, 2024 9:31 p.m.

The Penguins’ Jesse Puljujarvi gets a shot past Columbus goaltender Daniil Tarasov during the second period of an NHL preseason game Friday.

The Pittsburgh Penguins won their preseason finale, defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets, 7-3, at PPG Paints Arena on Friday.

Blue Jackets forward Mikael Pyyhtia (second goal of the preseason, 4:35 of the first period) and defenseman Cole Clayton (first goal, 5:05) opened the scoring.

Penguins forward Noel Acciari responded with his third goal at 6:27 of the opening frame. Only 68 seconds later, forward Rickard Rakell tied the score, collecting his second goal during a power-play sequence.

Penguins forward Jesse Puljujarvi scored his team-best fourth goal at 5:54 of the second period. Linemate Rutger McGroarty got his first goal 11 seconds after that.

Acciari struck again at 11:36 of the second frame. That was offset by Blue Jackets forward Kent Johnson’s second goal at 13:15 of the second.

Penguins forward Lars Eller notched his second goal this preseason at 14:55 of the second period then scored again at 8:15 of the third frame.

Goaltender Joel Blomqvist made 26 saves on 29 shots as his record improved to 2-1-0.

The Penguins completed the preseason with a 4-3-0 record. They are scheduled to open the regular season with a home contest against the New York Rangers on Wednesday.