COLUMBUS, Ohio -- If recent history is any indication, tonight's game will go beyond regulation and overtime.
The Penguins have had just four games go to shootouts this season -- they are 3-1 in them -- but two of those wins came at home against the Blue Jackets.
The Penguins won, 3-2, Dec. 21 on this Kris Letang attempt:
And 5-4 on Dec. 27 on a Sidney Crosby attempt after the Penguins overcame an early 3-1 deficit.
Of course given the bad blood between the Metropolitan Division rivals -- they've combined for 30 penalty minutes in their previous two meetings -- this could also go to a punch-out.
Here are my three keys:
1. Suppressing CBJ shot total.
The Penguins pride themselves on their ability to put pucks on net; they're fourth in the NHL, averaging 34.2 per game. But even they can't compare to the Blue Jackets of late.
Columbus averages a league-leading 34.9 but it has taken that to new levels in recent games. Shot totals are usually a fair indication of possession but, as the Blue Jackets have found out, not always success.
In their past seven games the Blue Jackets have registered 49, 39, 37, 50, 51, 57 and 35 shots, yet they have won just two games during that stretch.
In posting 50, 51 and 57 shots, they became the first team in the post-expansion era to record at least 50 shots in three straight games. The 1955-56 Black Hawks, including rookie defenseman Pierre Pilote, were the only other team to do so in NHL history and they finished sixth in the then six-team league.
Whoever is in goal, be it Matt Murray or Tristan Jarry, figures to see a lot of action and the Penguins will need to keep those shots to the perimeter.
The good thing for the Penguins is that, outside of Artemi Panarin, the Jackets don't possess a lot of high-end scorers. Panarin has three goals and an assist against Pittsburgh this season:
Columbus averages just 2.57 goals per game, the fourth fewest in the NHL, and its power play is converting at a league-worst 14.7 percent even after converting on 10 of their last 40 chances over the past 16 games.
2. On the road again.
Last weekend the Penguins took three out of a possible four points in Dallas and St. Louis. Now they just need to build off those solid road efforts.
For all the good the Penguins have done in recent weeks, they are still just 11-15-3 on the road, where they have been outscored 93-74. Their 25 road points still rank among the NHL's bottom third.
Though they won't be faced with an 11 a.m. start time, it's a 6 p.m. faceoff, so it will be a short turnaround following Saturday night's game. This will be the Penguins' first trip back to Nationwide Arena since last spring's first-round playoff win. They went 0-1-1 there last year in the regular season.
After Columbus, the Penguins will play two straight road games next weekend -- at Carolina and at Florida -- on consecutive nights.
If the Penguins are to have success in the postseason, they will need to get back to winning consistently on the road.
3. Beware of Dubi.
The only thing missing from the Penguins' first two games with Columbus was Brandon Dubinsky.
The Blue Jackets' uber-pest is back in the lineup after missing 18 games with a broken orbital bone sustained in a fight with Edmonton's Zack Kassian on Dec. 12. Since returning in a visor, Dubinsky has two goals and an assist, along with four PIMs, and has gone minus-5.
The Penguins need no introduction to Dubinsky and what he can do, but must not get sucked into his antics.