Penguins beat Blue Jackets, set up 1st-round matchup with Rangers

The Penguins spoke of gaining momentum with their regular season finale against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday.

And sure enough, they did that with a convincing but hardly perfect 5-3 win at PPG Paints Arena on Friday that provided a badly needed course correction.

They also got a destination.

Manhattan.

Friday’s victory gave the Penguins a 46-25-11 record as well as 103 points and secured third place in the Metropolitan Division, ensuring a match-up with the New York Rangers in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Rangers will have home-ice advantage in the series.

Throughout the regular season, the Penguins largely struggled with the Rangers. In four games, the Penguins had a 1-3 record and were outscored 11-4.

Regardless, the Penguins’ immediate focus Friday was just on playing better than they have in recent weeks. Entering Friday’s game, they were mired in a 6-9-2 skid.

“Obviously, we’re coming down to crunch time,” goaltender Casey DeSmith said. “We’re just trying to go into the playoffs with some momentum, play the right way and get something going here. But obviously, the playoffs is a whole different animal. It’s all about momentum. We just want to start building that (Friday) by doing the right things, doing the little things and playing for each other.”

One area of potential concern is the well-being of Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin, who left the contest 11:13 of the third period. He appeared to be holding his chin as he left the ice and retreated to the dressing room.

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan did not provide an update on his status following the game.

That was the only negative out of this game for the Penguins, who gained something possibly even more important than two points in the standings.

“It was our last chance to earn that confidence and just play the right way,” defenseman Marcus Pettersson said. “It’s a good feeling tonight.”

Forward Evgeni Malkin got those positive vibes going only 3:51 into regulation by collecting his 20th goal of the season. Pinching in deep, Pettersson attempted a wraparound forehand shot from the right of the Blue Jackets’ cage that slid off his stick towards the crease. Malkin charged in to claim possession and had his initial shot denied by goaltender J-F Berube. Malkin followed through on the ensuing rebound and jabbed it through Berube’s five hole. Linemate Danton Heinen and Pettersson had assists.

It became a 2-0 contest at the 5:31 mark when forward Evan Rodrigues – the lone member of the Penguins to appear in all 82 games this season – scored his 19th goal.

Shielding a puck in the left corner of the offensive zone from Blue Jackets defenseman Andrew Peeke, forward Jake Guentzel centered a pass to the slot that hit off the left skate of Blue Jackets forward Justin Danforth and deflected to the right of the crease. As Berube made a weak attempt at a poke check, Rodrigues darted after the puck and whipped a wrister through the goaltender’s five hole. Guentzel and forward Teddy Blueger tallied assists.

The Penguins went up by a field goal 55 seconds later when Pettersson collected his second goal of the season (and first since Oct. 23).

Controlling the puck on the right half wall of the offensive zone, Penguins forward Brian Boyle zipped a cross-ice pass to an on-rushing Malkin, who swooped behind the cage and drew in Blue Jackets defenseman Dean Kukan near the right post. That opened space in the right circle for Pettersson, who accepted Malkin’s pass and lifted a wrister that clunked in between Berube’s glove and his left ribs before finding the back of the cage. Malkin and Boyle netted assists. Berube was pulled, potentially for humanitarian concerns, and replaced by Elvis Merzlikins.

Pettersson finished the contest by matching a career-high of three points (one goal, two assists).

“You can be aggressive and still be on the safe side (or) you can be aggressive and kind of chase plays that aren’t there,” Pettersson said. “I didn’t chase plays that (weren’t) there. I took what I was given. Got some good bounces too.”

The Blue Jackets got a few bounces as well to make the game competitive. The first came at 10:24 of the second period.

After DeSmith was unable to corral a dump-in off his own end boards, Danforth swiped the puck off of him and fed a pass above the left circle for Blue Jackets defenseman Gabriel Carlsson, who chucked a wrister on net. DeSmith stopped the shot but allowed a rebound to bounce free in the right side of the crease. Danforth lunged at it, poking the puck into the cage for his 10th goal. Carlsson had the lone assist.

Penguins defenseman Kris Letang made it a 4-1 game at 16:30 of the second period. Cycling out of the Blue Jackets’ left corner, forward Jeff Carter slipped a backhand pass to the left circle for linemate Brock McGinn, who fed a pass low in the right circle. From there, Letang tapped in a forehand shot past the sprawling Merzlikins’ glove hand to establish a new career-high with 68 points. McGinn and Carter collected assists.

It became a 5-1 contest late in the middle frame at the 18:54 mark when Penguins forward Brian Boyle shot his jersey number with his 11th goal. Taking a pass above the left circle of the offensive zone, Pettersson surveyed for a shot and lobbed a wrister towards the cage. The puck avoided Merzlikins’ glove on the far side but clunked off Boyle’s right knee and deflected into the net. Pettersson and Blueger claimed assists.

The Blue Jackets made things a bit interesting in the third period with a pair of power-play scores.

Forward Oliver Bjorkstrand made it a 5-2 game at 6:58 of the third with his 28th goal. Off the right half wall of the offensive zone, Blue Jackets forward Jakub Voracek slid a pass low to the right of the cage for forward Gustav Nyquist, who snapped a pass across the front of the crease. From the left of the net, Bjorkstrand sniped a wrister past DeSmith’s glove on the far side. Nyquist and Voracek had assists.

Nyquist capped the scoring at 12:06 of the third. From above the Penguins’ left circle, Blue Jackets defenseman Jake Bean slid a pass to Voracek above the right circle. From there, Voracek swiped a half-speed one-timer. Without any resistance, Nyquist positioned himself in front of DeSmith and re-directed the puck past DeSmith’s glove for his 18th goal. Voracek and Bean netted assists.

The Penguins’ penalty kill was perforated as it allowed two goals on five assists.

That futility did not escape Sullivan’s attention.

“I don’t think our penalty kill was as good tonight,” Sullivan said. “Our penalty kill needs to get better. That’s an area where I think we’ve slipped over the last couple of weeks. A lot of it is just attention to detail and commitment and things of that nature. That’s one area where I didn’t think we were as good tonight and we had to be better.”

It would be hard to fairly argue DeSmith needed to be much better. He made 33 saves on 36 shots and boosted his record to 11-6-5.

“He had a few more stops than he probably should have had tonight,” Boyle said. “He made some great saves.”

The Penguins were far from great against the Rangers this regular season. Especially in the most recent meeting, a 3-0 home win for the Rangers on April 7 that saw players from each squad leave the bench and exchange verbal barbs after regulation, including Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin who waved “good-bye” to the Penguins.

“It’s going to be a good matchup,” Pettersson said. “It got a little heated at the end of the last game. We look forward to it for sure.”

Notes:

• Sullivan indicated top goaltender Tristan Jarry has begun the rehabilitation process for his injured right foot that has sidelined him since April 14.

• DeSmith (43 wins) surpassed Michel Dion and Wendell Young (42 each) for 13th place on the franchise’s career goaltending wins list.

• The Penguins finished the season with 566 penalty minutes, the fifth-lowest figure in franchise history. The four seasons that were lower all involved schedules that had fewer than 82 games:

• Letang led the Penguins with 49 penalty minutes this season, the second-lowest team-leading figure in franchise history. The low-water mark of 32 was established by Letang last season with a 56-game schedule.

• The Penguins finished the season with a 14-9-3 record against Metropolitan Division foes this season.

• The Penguins swept a regular season series with the Blue Jackets (4-0-0) for the third time since the Blue Jackets joined the Eastern Conference in 2013. The previous seasons were 2013-14 (5-0-0) and 2017-18 (4-0-0).

• The Penguins have won 11 consecutive home games against the Blue Jackets.