Penguins vs. Blue Jackets Prediction, NHL Odds & Best Bets (10/9)

Fact checked at 8:47 AM ET, Oct 9, 2026

Odds as of Oct 9, 7:53 AM ET

Pittsburgh's offense is the reason to look at this game. The Penguins are 2-2 with 18 goals in four games, 4.5 a night, third in the league behind only Colorado and Edmonton, and they have put 129 shots on goal, just over 32 a game. The scoring came early: a 7-0 win at Philadelphia and a 6-5 overtime win over Montreal, then a 3-2 loss to Winnipeg and a 5-3 loss at Washington on Wednesday. Columbus is 1-1, a 6-3 win over Buffalo and a 4-1 loss to Utah last Saturday, and has not played since.

The market leans to the home side. Columbus is -124 on the moneyline and Pittsburgh +104, almost exactly where it opened at -125 and +105. The puck line is Penguins +1.5 at -250 and Blue Jackets -1.5 at +201, and the total is 6.5, Over -105 and Under -115. The money is on Pittsburgh: 72% of the moneyline handle on 62% of the bets, and 82% of the puck-line money on 45% of the tickets.

Puck drop is 7:00 PM ET at Nationwide Arena, on CBJHN, CBJNHL and SN-PIT. Neither club has named its goalie. Arturs Silovs is the projected starter for Pittsburgh, though Sergei Murashov could get this one with Dallas visiting Saturday, and Jet Greaves is projected for Columbus, with Cam Talbot expected to make his Blue Jackets debut on one of the two nights. Both teams play again Saturday, Pittsburgh at home against Dallas and Columbus in St. Louis. Damon Severson has been cleared and is expected to make his season debut on the top pair with Zach Werenski, though the club still has to make the roster move; Ivan Provorov and Dante Fabbro remain out week to week. Andrei Kuzmenko is not with Pittsburgh on this trip, and Bryan Rust is back after scoring in his season debut Wednesday.

All three picks ride the same thing: Pittsburgh's forwards getting pucks to the net against a Columbus defense that is still patched together.

Penguins vs. Blue Jackets Predictions

• Pick #1: Penguins Moneyline (+104)
• Pick #2: Penguins Team Total Over 3 (-115)
• Pick #3: Sidney Crosby Over 2.5 Shots on Goal (+135)

PICK #1: Penguins Moneyline (+104)

Columbus is missing two of its top six defensemen, and the goalie it is expected to start has stopped 50 of 57 shots. Pittsburgh is scoring 4.5 goals a game. That is the bet, and it comes at plus money.

Start with the offense. Pittsburgh's 4.5 goals a game rank third of 32 teams, its 32.3 shots a game have come against four different opponents, and the power play has scored on 4 of 13 chances (30.8%). Tommy Novak leads the team with five points (3 goals, 2 assists) from the second line between Egor Chinakhov and Evgeni Malkin, and defenseman Declan Carlile has four points in four games, so this is not Sidney Crosby's line carrying everyone. On the other side, Columbus has given up 3.5 goals and 28.5 shots a game in its two games. Greaves is at .877. Utah put 31 shots and three power-play goals on this group last Saturday, and the penalty kill has stopped 6 of 9 (66.7%). Severson's return helps, but he has not played since March after shoulder surgery, and Provorov and Fabbro are still out.

Last season points the same way. The Penguins went 41-25-16; Columbus went 40-30-12 and missed the playoffs. The four meetings all went past regulation: Pittsburgh won 4-3 and 5-4 in overtime and lost 5-4 and 4-3 in shootouts. Bettors have noticed, with 72% of the moneyline handle on Pittsburgh from 62% of the bets.

What could go wrong is mostly in Pittsburgh's own end. The Penguins have allowed 13 goals in four games, Silovs has stopped 61 of 71 (.859), and they turned the puck over 21 times in Washington. Columbus has had five days to fix the Utah game at home, and its power play has scored on 2 of 5. The goalies are the open question, but a Murashov start is not a reason to back off: he stopped 32 of 35 against Winnipeg in his one start. A Talbot start for Columbus would be a 39-year-old making his first appearance for a new team. At +104 the moneyline implies a 49.0% chance, and with the vig stripped out the market makes Columbus about a 53% favorite. The puck line at -250 is past what this column plays. Take the win at plus money.

PICK #2: Penguins Team Total Over 3 (-115)

Pittsburgh scored four or more goals in 46 of 82 games last season. That is the whole case, and -115 only asks for 53.5%.

This bet needs four Penguins goals; three exactly refunds it. Last season the Penguins scored four or more 46 times, exactly three 12 times, and two or fewer 24 times, so the bet would have won 46, lost 24 and pushed 12. Against Columbus they scored 4, 4, 5 and 3 in the four meetings, three winners and a push. This season it is 7, 6, 2 and 3, two winners, a loss and a push. Columbus allowed four or more in 33 of 82 games last season (3.09 a game) and has allowed 3 and 4 this season behind a thinner blue line and a goalie at .877.

Be clear about the risk. Thirteen of Pittsburgh's 18 goals came in the first two games, and the power play has gone 0 for 5 over the last two. Severson adds a top-four defenseman. A Talbot start would be a new look. Both teams are on the first night of a back-to-back. And this pick shares its risk with the moneyline: a quiet Penguins night sinks both, while a 3-2 Pittsburgh win cashes the first pick and refunds this one.

PICK #3: Sidney Crosby Over 2.5 Shots on Goal (+135)

Crosby has 12 shots on goal in four games this season (3, 2, 5 and 2), three a night. Last season he put 160 shots on net in 68 games, 2.35 a game, with three or more in 30 of them (44%), and he had exactly three in each of the four games against Columbus. He runs the first power-play unit and logged more than four minutes of power-play time on Wednesday, and Columbus has given up 28.5 shots a game and killed only 6 of 9 penalties.

The price is why this is here. At +135 the Over implies a 42.6% chance, and Crosby cleared this line more often than that last season.

Two of his four games this season stopped at two shots, his rate last season was closer to two than three, and a tight game with few penalties keeps him at two. He also missed 14 games last season. This is a plus-money bet on Crosby in a game Pittsburgh needs to attack. It isn't a sure thing, and it doesn't need to be at this number.

21+ (18+ where permitted). Odds subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.