Blue Jackets 4, Penguins 3 (SO): Ryan Johansen scored the decisive shootout goal in the second round and Sergei Bobrovsky denied Brandon Sutter on Pittsburgh's final attempt as host Columbus posted its sixth straight victory to start the month.

Boone Jenner recorded a goal and an assist in regulation while Nick Foligno and defenseman Jack Johnson also tallied for the Blue Jackets, who lost all five meetings with the Penguins last season. Blue-liner David Savard notched a pair of assists and Bobrovsky made 33 saves.

Defenseman Kris Letang scored twice and former Blue Jacket Blake Comeau added a tally for Pittsburgh, which was without captain Sidney Crosby for a second straight night due to an undisclosed illness. Evgeni Malkin (36 points) registered an assist to overtake Crosby for the team scoring lead and Thomas Greiss turned aside 24 shots.

Columbus cashed in on a power-play opportunity early in the first period to grab the lead as Jenner made a pass from the bottom of the left faceoff circle to Foligno, who converted from the doorstep at 3:02. Comeau answered with 4:54 remaining in the second, gathering a loose puck along the left-wing boards and beating Bobrovsky to the short side from the left circle.

Letang slid a backhander past Bobrovsky during a short-handed 2-on-1 rush at 7:22 of the third, but Jenner answered by converting a penalty shot after being hooked on a breakaway by Penguins defenseman Simon Despres with 7:55 left. Johnson beat Greiss high to the glove side from the left circle with 2:11 to play, but Letang capped his second two-goal performance of the season exactly two minutes later to force overtime.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Letang also scored twice during a four-point effort against Buffalo on Nov. 8. ... Malkin's assist on Letang's second goal gave him at least one point in 24 of his 29 games this season. ... Pittsburgh RWs Bobby Farnham and Bryan Rust were recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League and made their NHL debuts, combining for nine penalty minutes.