Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Get your game notes: Penguins at Blue Jackets

Marc-Andre Fleury, Matt Niskanen

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Matt Niskanen (2) celebrates with goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (29) after a 3-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets in Game 5 of a first-round NHL playoff hockey series in Pittsburgh, Saturday, April 26, 2014. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

AP

Tonight on NBCSN, it’s the Columbus Blue Jackets hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins at 7 p.m. ET. Following are some game notes, as compiled by the NHL on NBC research team:

--- The team that’s scored first has lost all five games in this series. In every other series this postseason, the team that scores first is 26-10. After four straight games in which the team down by two goals came back to win in this series, there was no such comeback Saturday in Game 5, a 3-1 Pittsburgh victory.

--- Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury bounced back from Game 4 to help Pittsburgh win Game 5, stopping 23 of Columbus’ 24 shots. Fleury has yet to post back-to-back wins in this series and has only won consecutive playoff games twice in the previous three postseasons (2012 ECQF Game 4 and 5 vs. Philadelphia; 2011 ECQF Game 3 and 4 vs. Tampa Bay).

--- Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky faced more shots (190) through the first five games of this postseason than any other goalie. In Game 5, last year’s Vezina Trophy winner faced 50 shots, turning away 48 in the loss. Only Chicago’s Corey Crawford has faced more shots in a single game this postseason — 52, in a 3-OT loss against St. Louis in Game 1. For the Penguins, it was the first time since Game 2 of the 2008 ECQF against Ottawa that they had at least 50 shots in a regulation postseason game. In the second period, the Penguins had 21 shots, matching a franchise playoff record for one frame.

--- Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma tweaked his lines in Game 5 in order to feature Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on the same line. Although neither was able to snap the longest postseason goal-scoring droughts of their careers — Crosby (10), Malkin (9) — they combined for eight shots, their second-highest total of this series since they had nine in Game 2. Crosby added an assist on Chris Kunitz’s power play goal in the second period Saturday, his fifth assist of the series.

--- Of the 32 goals that have been recorded in this series, 15 have come via special teams (46.9% – 11 PPG, 4 SHG), the most of any first-round series. In Game 5, Columbus scored on the power play for the second straight game and in the fourth game overall in this series. Dating back to the regular season, Columbus has scored a power play goal in 13 of its last 16 games. The Blue Jackets are now 6-22 (27.3%) on the power play in the series, the third-best mark in the postseason. Boone Jenner scored the power play goal Saturday, while Ryan Johansen had one of the assists. The two are tied for the team lead in power play points—Jenner (2-2—4), Johansen (2-2—4). Jenner, the 20-year-old Canadian rookie, has a point in each game of this series and 11 points in his last 10 games, dating back to the regular season.

--- In the past three games of this series, the winning team has out shot its opponent by 21 or more shots.

fda