NHL Recaps: Friday, Mar 21, 2025

1 game: what happened that matters for your fantasy team, built from the play-by-play and shift charts.

Game recaps

Final

Full report

Columbus Blue Jackets

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Penguins beat Columbus Blue Jackets 6–3

Pittsburgh Penguins beat Columbus Blue Jackets 6–3 at home. Bryan Rust (PIT) led the scoring with 1G 1A. Alex Nedeljkovic (PIT) faced 47 shots and stopped 44 (.936), +19 against a season average of 27.7; the win.

•Bryan Rust had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 5 shots in 19:07.
•Rickard Rakell had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 1 shot in 17:43.
•Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 3 shots in 18:10.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

Goal of the night

The hardest tracked shot of the night: Bryan Rust for PIT vs CBJ, 54.7 mph. Full game report →

Bryan Rust (PIT vs CBJ): Point shot, 2 passes, 54.7 mph shot.

Top performers

Player	Game	G	A	P	SOG	Hits	Blk	TOI	PP
Bryan Rust PIT	vs CBJ	1	1	2	5	0	1	19:07	—
Sidney Crosby PIT	vs CBJ	1	1	2	3	1	0	18:10	—
Rickard Rakell PIT	vs CBJ	1	1	2	1	2	0	17:43	—
Noel Acciari PIT	vs CBJ	1	0	1	1	4	4	14:07	—
Zach Werenski CBJ	at PIT	0	0	0	8	0	3	29:15	—

Goalie notes

Goalie	Game	Dec	SA	GA	SV%
Alex Nedeljkovic PIT	vs CBJ	W	47	3	.936
Elvis Merzlikins CBJ	at PIT	L	33	5	.848

Next up: tonight's starting goalies, today's line combinations and today's games. Takeaways are generated from the numbers with fixed rules; nothing is written by a language model.