I’ll allow: I am very passionate about this subject.
In fact, if I ever ran for office, this would be a pillar of my platform.
No, my friends, we aren’t talking about renewable energy or tax cuts; we’re talking about the real life, legitimate (gasp!) rivalry that exists between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
On one side of this nasty, combative series, there’s a bizarre air of disbelief. A rejection of reality, if you will, that prevents Penguins fans from truly realizing how much they hate the Blue Jackets. On the other side, the Columbus contingent makes no bones about it: the Penguins are public enemy No. 1, one of the primary roadblocks on their path to respectability in the Metro Division, conveniently located three hours east on Interstate 70.
Here’s what I know: there are no rules or guidelines used to determine what is or isn’t a rivalry. There is no timeline for when it should happen, nor is there a checklist that needs to be completed before consideration.
Where it’s rooted is in emotion, in pure sporting hatred, and the physical illness that comes from losing to a particular opponent. For the Penguins, the Blue Jackets appear to be that opponent. And vice versa.
Each meeting between the two clubs gets progressively more contentious. Every whistle leads to a dust-up. A handful of the Blue Jackets have been singled out as the dirtiest players in the NHL, which is probably more than enough to keep them up at night. Perhaps the only place with less space than a crowded penalty box during Blue Jackets-Penguins is inside the head of the opponent. First it was the Flyers, now the Blue Jackets are trying to move in.
The games are fast. They’re physical. They’re played with a different tone and tension than the other 77 or 78 regular season games. Both teams know when these games are on the horizon, and they know they need to find another gear to match the level of the opposition.
But it’s not a rivalry, you say? Give me a break.
Ever since the Blue Jackets were placed into the not-so-aptly-named Metropolitan Division three seasons ago, we were waiting for this to happen. Geographically, it made sense. On the ice, maybe not as much; the Penguins were the class of the Eastern Conference and the Blue Jackets had missed the playoffs in 2012-13 by a whisker after back-to-back disastrous seasons.
They faced off five times in 2013-14 before meeting in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Before that series began, it was already on the cusp of boiling over.
After the Penguins sent the Blue Jackets packing in six games, Dan Bylsma (current Sabres coach and former Penguins coach) emphatically proclaimed that this was a rivalry we’d hear from again, and very soon.
Some rolled their eyes at the time – he’s just patting his old friend Todd Richards on the back, they said – but it seems that Disco Dan knew what he was talking about.
The regular season installments have provided their share of drama. Brandon Dubinsky’s cross-check(s) to Sidney Crosby’s neck – completely uncalled for – sparked the fire a year ago. Boone Jenner collided with Evgeni Malkin later that season and, within minutes, was labeled as a knee-hunter. In December, the Blue Jackets jettisoned the Penguins out of Nationwide Arena in arguably Pittsburgh’s ugliest loss of the year.
Villain status: activated.
Add in the presence of Scott Hartnell, Pittsburgh kid Brandon Saad and a pain in the ass like Matt Calvert, and it’s not hard to see why the Blue Jackets drive the Penguins absolutely crazy. The only thing missing in the recipe for legitimacy was for the Blue Jackets to breathe down their neck in the standings, which added another layer to all of this in 2016-17.
For 70-plus games, the Blue Jackets were either level with or ahead of the Penguins in the division standings. Their rallying cry was to earn respect around the league, John Tortorella said, and along the way it appears they gained the attention of the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Call me crazy, but I have a feeling the Blue Jackets are quite pleased with their opening round draw. I have no idea how it’s going to play out – you could say the Penguins have the upper hand with home-ice advantage – but getting another crack at them provides Columbus with some quality juice after a dampened finish to the regular season.
One way or another, they’re going to have to go through the defending champs. And the Blue Jackets would prefer not to waste any time.
