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Just like that, Blue Jackets at risk of continuing trend of squandered leads

Pittsburgh Penguins v Columbus Blue Jackets - Game Three

COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 16: William Karlsson #25 of the Columbus Blue Jackets clears out a rebound as Sergei Bobrovsky #72 of the Columbus Blue Jackets makes a save while being screened by Tom Kuhnhackl #34 of the Pittsburgh Penguins during Game Three of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 16, 2017 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Pittsburgh defeated Columbus 5-4 in overtime. Pittsburgh leads the series 3-0. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)

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The Columbus Blue Jackets put themselves in a great position to win after the first 20 minutes of Game 4, taking a 2-0 lead against the Pittsburgh Penguins. They even - seemingly - reversed the trend of bad second-period play, fattening their edge to 3-0 early on.

It was really looking like, maybe, possibly, the Blue Jackets would cruise to their first win of the series.

They enter the second intermission in a ... far different state of mind, however.
Stream Penguins vs. Blue Jackets on NBC Sports

After a Monday full of heart-stopping comebacks, the Blue Jackets rapidly saw a 3-0 edge degrade to a more tenuous 3-2 lead.

The mini-comeback began with Patric Hornqvist scoring from his office (or is it Wayne Simmonds’ office now?):

A few jaws dropped (or at least some nail-biting commenced) after Ron Hainsey made it 3-2 with just a handful of minutes remaining in the second:

The Blue Jackets merely need to draw even in the third to get to a Game 5. It should be interesting to see if they go aggressive or try to play “prevent defense.” Either way, they’re dangerously close to being swept after a shockingly successful run in 2016-17.