In recent weeks, Columbus and Pittsburgh have been flip-flopping between 2nd and 3rd place in the Metro division. That means that coming into Thursday’s games, there was a 42% chance that the Penguins and Blue Jackets would face each other in the first round of the playoffs:
If that holds, then the question is which team has the all-important home ice advantage. Currently Pittsburgh has that edge. That makes the remaining two matchups so important.
The first meeting, in December in Columbus, featured a 7-1 blowout win by the Jackets. Two weeks ago in Pittsburgh, Columbus battled back from a 2 goal deficit in the third to force OT, only to lose on a Phil Kessel goal.