Home again for the Pittsburgh Penguins, as they carry a four-game winning streak with them for their first of four meetings this season against the Columbus Blue Jackets. With the caveat that it’s only been eight games, it’s a matchup of one of the best teams in the NHL versus one of the worst, and the Blue Jackets are playing in the second night of a back-to-back and with travel as they played the Washington Capitals in Columbus last night. The Penguins did not have a single five-game winning streak all of last season, so there’s an opportunity to further reinforce the growing notion that this year’s team is not as bad as some may have expected them to be. Well, regardless, they have been much better than anyone expected (including myself).

The biggest positive for me with regards to this Pittsburgh team is how much more resilient they have been compered to recent years. Whereas last year’s team was proper bad against playoff-caliber teams, gave up leads like they were free, and just generally didn’t play with much heart on a regular basis, these Penguins have not been any of that. The one consistent thing is that they have not been great defensively, and that was to be expected and has the potential to submarine what positive they have exhibited thus far. But the forwards are more attentive to defense in their own end, and the goaltenders have both been pretty solid. Add to that the fact that they are spending longer shifts in the offensive end and not just dumping-and-running, and it’s led to a generally much improved product, and the proof is in the standings.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are a different animal. They too are getting pretty good goaltending (sixth in the League, compared to Pittsburgh in fourth), but theirs is a low-event kind of hockey; they’ve taken the sixth-fewest shots on goal and allowed the ninth-fewest. They mirror the Penguins in the expected goals categories: Pittsburgh is near the top of the NHL in expected goals for but near the bottom in expected goals against, and Columbus is flip-flopped. It’s the finishing which is keeping the Penguins on fire, while the Blue Jackets are towards the bottom of the middle in the NHL in that regard. So it figures to be a contrast of styles tonight between two teams that were both expected to be in the bottom of the standings, if not now then by the end of the season.

LGP