From before the playoff started, many believed Pittsburgh needed Marc-Andre Fleury and Brandon Sutter to make an impact in order for the Penguins to have a chance at winning their fourth Stanley Cup.
After Game 1, so far so good.
Brandon Sutter broke a 3-3 tie mid way through the third period to push the Penguins over the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 on Wednesday night while Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves.
It wasn’t easy for the Metropolitan Division champions to beat Columbus, a team they went 5-0 against this season. In fact, it was downright frightening for the vegas gold-clad home crowd after the first 20 minutes of play.
The Blue Jackets took a 1-0 lead when Jack Johnson scored 6:20 into the first period. Brandon Dubinsky drove wide on Paul Martin then sent a spinning pass to Johnson who was cutting to the middle of the net all alone. Fleury made the initial save on Johnson but the defenseman backhanded the rebound past the goaltender to give Columbus their first playoff lead in franchise history.
Jussi Jokinen scored with less than three minutes remaining in the first to tie the score at one. Evgeni Malkin took the puck along the half-wall and found Jokinen between the face off circles. Jokinen’s wrister fluttered past Columbus netminder Sergei Bobrovsky.
But Columbus came right back and took the lead less than a minute later when former Penguin Mark Letestu scored on the powerplay to make it 2-1 heading into the first intermission.
Blake Comeau took a penalty before the first period ended but Derek MacKenzie scored shorthanded to extend Columbus’s lead to two within the first minute of the second period. McKenzie stripped Kris Letang of the puck in the neutral zone and beat Marc-Andre Fleury with a wrist shot on the breakaway.
The Penguins learned from their mistake and cashed in on back to back powerplays to knot the score at three a piece.
Beau Bennett tipped a slap shot by Matt Niskanen through the five hole of Bobrovsky to make it 3-2 Columbus. Less than a minute later, Niskanen fired a low wrist shot from the left wing circle that slid through the legs of Bobrovsky to tie the score.
Brandon Sutter broke the tie mid way through the third period when he snapped a wrist shot past the netminder on the far side.
The Blue Jackets pulled their goalie with less than a minute remaining in the game but Marc-Andre Fleury stood tall and prevented Columbus for tying the score.
Three Stars
- Brandon Sutter
- Matt Niskanen
- Jack Johnson
Photo courtesy of NHL.com
