It’s finally the best time of the year for NHL fans as the Stanley Cup Playoffs start on Wednesday. The grind begins to see who will be crowned Stanley Cup Champion joining the immortals engraved on the fabled silver chalice.
The first matchup will be the second-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins vs. the seventh-seeded Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday night. These two teams know each other very well and a new rivalry could be built after this series is over. Who has the edge in each category and who wins the series? Let’s see.
Offense
Pittsburgh’s offense is by far one of the best offenses in the NHL. When you have Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Chris Kunitz, and James Neal healthy, they are deadly. They are likely to be on the 1st power play unit when the series starts tomorrow along with Kris Letang.
Columbus has some very good forwards too such as Ryan Johansen. He had one of the quietest 30 goal seasons you will ever see in the NHL and is one of the big reasons why Columbus is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2009. Brandon Dubinsky has also had a good season for Columbus and is one of the most underrated two-way centers in the league. Still, Pittsburgh’s firepower is too much for Columbus’s offense. Advantage: Pittsburgh
Defense
Pittsburgh finally has a healthy defense this season, which is something that is huge if they are to make a run. They got Kris Letang back last week, which was a shocker, and he has looked amazing these past couple games. Paul Martin, the second best defenseman on the Penguins, has also just returned from an injury a couple weeks ago and will need to be huge in the playoffs.
Columbus’ defense is solid as well. You can’t go wrong with Jack Johnson and James Wisniewski lead the way as the top pair for the Jacket’s blue line. Wisniewski in particular has been amazing for Columbus this year finishing 2nd on the team in points. Look for them to be out there against Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin’s line. Pittsburgh is still the favorite here. Advantage: Pittsburgh
Goaltending
And here we go again. The biggest question this year for the Penguins is if Marc-Andre Fleury can be good in the playoffs and lead the Penguins? He’s been good this year as he had 39 wins this season and five shutouts for them but the test comes now for him.
On the other hand, you have Sergei Bobrovsky who’s one of the best goaltenders in the NHL. The reigning Vezina trophy winner has had a very good season too but has only played the Penguins once in the five games they played this season so it will be interesting to see how he plays against them. I think Bobrovsky can and will steal a game or two in this series. Advantage: Columbus
Special Teams
Special Teams could be huge this series if the Penguins are to take care of the Jackets. Pittsburgh has the number one power play and the number five penalty kill unit in the NHL. Pittsburgh has a power play that can strike anytime anywhere. The key is to stay disciplined or else Pittsburgh will make you pay very quickly. Pittsburgh also has killed off a ton of Columbus’ power plays this season.
If Columbus is to win the special teams, they’re going to have to score a lot on their power play this series. The Blue Jackets finished in the middle of the pack on special teams but has shown that they can be a dangerous club. They were only 1-14 on the power play against the Pens in the five-game regular season series. Still, Pittsburgh has the better power play and penalty kill. Advantage: Pittsburgh
Prediction
This is going to be a very good series and yet it could be over quickly. Pittsburgh won the head-to-head series five games to none in particularly dominant fashion. The playoffs won’t be as dominant, but expect the Pens to make short work of Columbus’ second playoff appearance. Marc-Andre Fleury is going to steady the ship and lead the Penguins past Columbus. Penguins in 5