PITTSBURGH (48-19-11) VS COLUMBUS (49-21-8)
THE PAINT CAN. PITTSBURGH, PA.
7:00 PM EST. ROOT SPORTS
It is with a heavy heart that I have to admit that I was wrong and I am terribly sorry dear tpb readers, but the Columbus Blue Jackets are going to be in the playoffs after all. I expected them to do Columbus things and collapse following their huge win streak but they have managed to hold on. So here we are, preparing for the 79th game of the season on April 4th and it won’t be the biggest game against Columbus this month. You know all about the “huge implications” on the line tonight, a Pittsburgh win opens up a 3 point cushion for the #2 spot in the Metro, but do you truly understand what this game means?! According to our favorite chicken tender face-stuffing radio host this is THE game that determines who is healthy for the playoffs. If they don’t play tonight they apparently aren’t ready for game 1!
Unlike the Earth when he walks this isn’t ground-breaking stuff. For starters Trevor Daley and Olli Maatta aren’t allowed to play until the conclusion of the regular season due to the nature of their placement on LTIR, but we will just ignore that and brush it under the rug. Quick trip down memory lane, Evgeni Malkin missed the last few weeks of last season including game 1 in the playoffs and things worked out alright for him. Would it be ideal to get players some regular season reps in before the playoffs, obviously but it also isn’t the end of the world. Top 200 Players like Evgeni Malkin don’t need to shake the rust off to make an impact, just having them on the ice changes defensive match-ups. Kris Letang literally never has rust mainly because he is so familiar with the rehab process, he makes an immediate difference every return. Olli Maatta…. if he’s rusty and slow I seriously doubt you will be able to tell a difference, same thing with Trevor Daley. The point is this: if certain players don’t play tonight it means absolutely dick about the playoffs. “Home ice is sooooo important” well last season the Pens regular season road winning percentage was less than it is this season, and if I do recall they won a pretty important game on the road in San Jose.
Is home ice really that important in round one against Columbus? It’s a mini Pittsburgh. They opened up ticket sales to Ohio residents only and in limited quantities to prevent an invasion. Washington did the same thing last season in a series the Penguins weren’t supposed to win because they didn’t have home-ice advantage. Columbus has had a great regular season, I won’t take that from them, but that doesn’t mean that all of a sudden fans should be scared of playing Columbus in Columbus. It’s as if everyone has already written the series off and I don’t get it, but I guess people like to hear themselves talk.
As for the true implications of tonight, it will show how this rendition of the Pittsburgh Penguins will be able to match-up against this rendition of the Columbus Blue Jackets. It will be a playoff style game, as the Columbus-Washington tilt on Sunday was very festive, mainly because Columbus is latin for giant douche. As far as insight towards the upcoming playoff series this game has as much impact as a Trump Tweet.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS:
Unlike some I don’t think the latest shipment of Holy Water came in in time to get some players back for this game. Evgeni Malkin is the only one that I can possibly see making a return. So for fun, I want you to picture Malkin centering the second line and slide the other centers down a slot. Now glance to the other side and see how the Columbus defense matches up. Now picture that for 7 games. Now quit telling me anything matters. Quincey and Harrington on the third pairing is going to have to deal with either Phil Kessel or the pesky 4th line when they are in Columbus, and with whoever Sullivan throws at them in Pittsburgh. I don’t know when this fear of playing Columbus in the playoffs started but that shit needs to end. Sergei Bobrovsky will have to be perfect for 7 straight games to get the job done, and that’s what it comes down to. If you’re one of those people that says “the Penguins current defense can’t win a playoff series” then you haven’t seen what Columbus has to offer. PS: I’m secretly hoping Sullivan starts Fleury tonight just to fuck with everyone one last time before the playoffs.
WHO TO WATCH:
FOR COLUMBUS: BRANDON SAAD
Not sure if you know this or not but Saad is actually from the Pittsburgh area. It’s a Tuesday night, so if you’re up for it you should take a shot every time someone on Root mentions that fact. In a move that mimics his once assistant Sullivan’s handling of Kessel, Tortorello has slotted Saad on the third line. Saad currently has 22 goals and 29 assists on the year, setting him up to finish in the 50 point range for the 3rd consecutive year. $6,000,000 for 50-55 points per year seems pretty steep but what do I know. Patric Hornqvist averages 50 points per year as well, maybe he should make 6 million.
FOR PITTSBURGH: THE TOP LINE
Unlike the rest of the world I am not a fan of the Sid and the Kids nickname for physiological reasons, though Sid is a beast I don’t think he was banging your mom at 5 years old. Like the rest of the world I am a fan of the top line however, and I am excited to see how they match-up against their future 7 game opponent. Since one of our writers believes Guentzel is the Guardian of the Universe I did some digging: In his 37 games this season he has received >15 minutes of TOI in 23 of them. The team is 14-5-4 when Guentzel is on the ice for more than 15 minutes, and 6-1-1 since he joined Crosby on the first line and started getting >18 minutes. Jesse Marshall dropped the hammer with better stats than I can find on the line a few weeks ago. It is going to be fun to watch them work against this Columbus team.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
In medical school they always tell us not to go looking for zebras on a dairy farm when making a diagnosis. That can easily be applied tonight. This game is a measuring stick in terms of the system the Penguins use and for the coaches to gauge match-ups. Regardless of what social media will try to tell you this is not game 1. The results tonight do not change the outcome of any playoff series. Who plays tonight is not guaranteed to start in the playoffs. The only thing this game might tell us is where game 1 will be. The only thing guaranteed not to happen tonight is the dropping of streamers for a regular season win.
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