COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Markus Nutivaara, William Karlsson and Boone Jenner each had a goal and an assist and the Columbus Blue Jackets held on to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, avoiding a sweep in the best-of-seven playoff series. We're not even looking at a 3-0 ... this team has played really well this year and has grown tremendously.
Columbus Blue Jackets' Sergei Bobrovsky, left, of Russian Federation, and David Savard celebrate the team's 5-4 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 4 of an NHL first-round hockey playoff series Tuesday, April 18, 2017, in Columbus, Ohio. "So if we're going to put on that shit for music, Bob needs to be our best player tonight".
The Blue Jackets finally flipped the script last night, grabbing a 3-0 lead and never relinquishing it despite a serious pushback from the Penguins.
Transitioning from Pittsburgh to Columbus wasn't as effective as the Blue Jackets had hoped it would be, as Sergei Bobrovsky fell apart in Game 3 in front of the hometown crowd. "But we've got a lot more work to do".
"You know what we're thinking?" The Blue Jackets were lucky to get out of the last few minutes of the period without another score from the swarming Penguins. "We certainly talked about it before the game, being ready".
The most delightfully quaint thing about all of this is Tortorella calling the Jackets' Bluetooth speakers or whatever variety of MP3 player they use a "god damn radio". Sergei Bobrovsky has been less-than-average and the bite and snarl the Blue Jackets had seems non-existent next to the colossus that is the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Rick Nash and Jesper Fast scored, Henrik Lundqvist made 23 saves and the New York Rangers beat the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 on Tuesday night to even their first-round playoff series at two games apiece.
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DeMar DeRozan was still smoldering from the indignity of being held without a field goal for the first time in his playoff career. After jumping out to a 25-point lead, they were able to sustain it throughout the rest of the game winning 116-98 in Game 3 .
What will decide Tuesday night's game?
The Penguins responded to pull within one again at 2:10 of the third on Kuhnhackl's goal.
Columbus got offense from its lower lines, building leads of 3-1, 4-2 and 4-3 before Jenner poked in a goal amid heavy traffic 5:37 into the third period for a 5-3 lead. "They play this crap for music when you come in after the game".
Pittsburgh closed within one at 16:24 of the second when Hainsey scored his first goal of the series on a shot from the boards that went between the legs of teammate Bryan Rust and found its way past Bobrovsky. Kyle Quincey took a stupid penalty up 3-0 and the Penguins' subsequent power-play goal almost turned the tide dramatically enough to actually shift the final outcome of the game. Now they have another chance to extend the series. "We'll enjoy tonight and move on". Johnson fired a slap shot from above the right circle that deflected off Sidney Crosby's skate and past Marc-Andre Fleury at 11:46 of the first period.
As has been the norm in the series, the Blue Jackets continued to apply pressure in the first period and opened a 2-0 lead with 1:04 remaining on Anderson's first career playoff goal.
After taking a puck to the face in game 3 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the team announced on Twitter that Zach Werenski is out for the year. Werenski was one of the top rookies in the National Hockey League this season. Veteran D Kyle Quincey, a midseason pickup in a trade with the New Jersey Devils, took Werenski's place. D Markus Nutivaara made his playoff debut for the Blue Jackets, replacing D Scott Harrington. He replaced veteran Scott Hartnell, who was a healthy scratch. F Matt Calvert also was back after serving a one-game suspension for breaking his stick over the back of Kuhnhackl on Friday.
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