Blue Jackets vs. Penguins: Columbus goes into the lion’s den for crucial Game 5

Game 4 wasn’t an easy win for Columbus, but it was their most complete game effort in their first-round series.

The Blue Jackets narrowly avoided a sweep against the Penguins on Tuesday, but they’ll be in the belly of the beast Thursday for Game 5 back in Pittsburgh. Though the Blue Jackets extended the series for another day, the Penguins will likely want to squash any chance of a Columbus rally before it has a chance to get off the ground.

Good news for the Penguins is that the Blue Jackets have yet to beat them at home all season.

Goaltending has been bad on both sides. If a goaltender could lose a Vezina Trophy based on postseason play, Sergei Bobrovsky has done his award hopes no favors. Bobrovsky has put up an .891 save percentage in four games as the Blue Jackets have allowed 16 goals against so far in the postseason, the most in the playoffs.

Pittsburgh hasn’t fared well, either, with Marc-Andre Fleury allowing five goals on 34 shots in the Game 4 loss. Though his stats have held up better, Fleury’s play has been noticeably shaky in goal ever since his Game 1 start.

Jake Guentzel. The 22-year-old center had his fifth goal of the playoffs on Tuesday after putting up a hat trick in Game 3. As the left wing to Sidney Crosby’s center, Guentzel will likely see a lot of action on Thursday. If Pittsburgh wins, don’t be surprised if this kid has the game-winner.

Does Columbus weather the storm? With a chance to advance on home ice, the Penguins could really take the Blue Jackets out of it with an early swarm. It worked for Columbus in Game 4, after all.

The Penguins. Columbus has been outmatched in this series across the board, and the Penguins will advance at home as the atmosphere at PPG Paints Arena will be too much for the Blue Jackets to handle.