Playoff Gameday: Round 1 Game 4

PITTSBURGH VS COLUMBUS

NATIONWIDE ARENA – COLUMBUS, OHIO

7:30 PM EST. CNBC/ROOT SPORTS

PENS LEAD THE SERIES 3-0

I feel like I kind of owe everyone an apology. When I said things were gonna get weird, I didn’t expect it to take all of 11 seconds to get there. Woooooooof.

Anyways, Merry Sweepmas Eve to you and yours.

Tonight the Pens again travel into the depths of Shittier-Cincinnati for game 4 in an arena that I definitely did not need to look up the name of before the series started.

There’s honestly been times throughout this series where I’ve felt genuinely bad for Blue Jacket fans. This is their only pro-sports team, they’ve never won a playoff series, their most famous fan is a tie between Kirk Herbstreit and that guy who dances with his shirt off. Winning game 3 would have been the greatest win in franchise history. That’s a legitimately depressing list.

But then you see shit like this…

The world is a just and full string of nows.

Lines: The big news here is that Zach Werenski is done for the playoffs with a broken face. When Werenski missed time a few weeks ago he was replaced by Markus Nutivaara so expect him to slot in. At this point, the Pens have no reason to rush anyone back so no change on the Hagelin, Murray, Kunitz, Roo Weedle front. I’m basically just guessing on these Jackets lines because Torts is basically just button-smashing now. Calvert will be back in after his acquittal.

Pittsburgh:

Mayor Of Columbus-Crosby-Sheary

Rust-Malkin-Kessel

Wilson-Bonino-Hornqvist

Rowney-Cullen-Kuhnhackl

Dumoulin-Hainsey

Cole-Schultz

Maatta-Daley

Fleury-Jarry

Cbus:

Atkinson-Dubinsky-Foligno

Saad-Wennberg-Bjorkstrand

Jenner-Gagner-Hartnell

Calvert-Karlsson-Anderson

Jones-Savard

Johnson-Carlsson

Nutivaara-Harrington

Bob-Korpisalo

The prospect of being swept at home is going to have the Jackets either fired up or completely defeated. The Pens Achilles heel to this point has been their slow starts — probably because Columbus touches this every game before they come down the tunnel

Inspiring stuff.

This is about the long game now for the Pens. Finishing Lumbus in 4 would mean more rest and more time for injuries to heal before round 2. Those little advantages can be huge in the playoffs with margins so razor thin. Time to break out the brooms…

GO PENS