Columbus Blue Jackets took a slender 1:0 victory over Pittsburgh Penguins in their opening meeting of the new NHL season on 24 September. The result came with little fanfare, but that is how these games often begin — a single moment deciding everything.
By then the teams had already played friendlies against other opponents. Columbus had lost heavily to Buffalo on 22 September before grinding out a 1:0 win over Detroit the day before. Pittsburgh's recent form was more volatile: a 4:7 defeat to Detroit followed by a 4:1 victory over Buffalo.
And here's the thing — we had called for the hosts to come out on top, though our confidence sat at just 44%. It was not a confident prediction, but sometimes these opening games reward the side that commits fewer errors. Pittsburgh had looked vulnerable in that high-scoring loss to Detroit, and Columbus took advantage of the space.
The standings tell you nothing yet. Both teams sit with zero games, zero points — the table is blank. What matters is what happened on the ice, not where either side will finish in April.
This kind of result does not change much overnight. But it gives Columbus something to build on, and it suggests Pittsburgh may need to tighten up if they want to avoid slipping into the kind of defensive mistakes that cost them against Detroit.
