This is why you get home ice.
The Pittsburgh Penguins aren't making too much fuss about the NHL's kinda-really-bad playoff format.
That's reserved for teams like the Blue Jackets, who have a legitimate beef with the system but, at this point, it doesn't do anyone any good with the party about to get started tonight (7:30 p.m. ET, USA Network/FOX Sports Ohio).
When you're a team seeking a injection of energy down the stretch, this exact situation is what coaches will remind their teams: dig deep now, find a way to get points, and you will be glad you did so once the playoffs roll around. It can be difficult for teams such as the Penguins and Blue Jackets, who had playoff berths secured a month ago and didn't have much incentive to go on a blitz down the stretch; however, the underlying race - especially when you're low on juice - is to obtain home ice advantage.
And said advantage is a yooooooge one for the Penguins.
While PPG Paints Arena will never get confused with its predecessor, the odorous and delightful hockey cathedral known as Mellon Arena, the Penguins have manufactured quite the environment for their 41-game home schedule. And if you ever saw a game at The Igloo, you know what we're talking about: that place rumbled, it shook and felt as though the foundation was in jeopardy when it got rocking. The Penguins were unbeatable at times in that old barn, so it's not hard to see why they were sad to see it go.
The Paint Can (we're going to call it that) doesn't thunder like that. It doesn't have the old-school, almost cantankerous vibe that those Igloo crowds created. It's much shinier, beautiful and cavernous, but what really matters is how the home team performs within its walls. The Penguins have made good on their home schedule, and they hope it's going to pay off in this series.
Pittsburgh finished the 2016-17 season with a 31-6-4 (!) record on home ice. By contrast, the Blue Jackets were a solid 28-12-4. Scroll down the NHL.com standings page and you'll see the lonely Colorado Avalanche, who were 13-26-2 at home this year. You almost feel bad for the good soldiers who stuck it out through that.
But here's the rub: the Blue Jackets don't need to roll into Pittsburgh and take both games. They just need one. Take it back to Columbus in a 1-1 tie and claim home ice advantage back.
Easier said than done, of course, but here's how they fared at The Paint Can this season:
FEB. 3, 2017 | PIT 4, CBJ 3 (OT)
Man, the Blue Jackets were red-faced and pissed after this game. They felt they should have won it. The Penguins took a 3-1 lead into the third period, but Columbus put on its stubborn shoes and chipped away in the final 20 minutes to force overtime. They had plenty of chances to win the game in regulation, too, but couldn't punch a fourth goal into the Penguins net. On a brutal break in OT, Phil Kessel capitalized on a broken play resulting from a Boone Jenner shot-block; Kessel had the puck bounce right to him with an open net, and he beat Sergei Bobrovsky to give Pittsburgh the extra point.
APR. 4, 2017 | PIT 4, CBJ 1
Tortorella said he didn't mind the Blue Jackets' effort in this game. Of course, had they won the game, we may be talking about a different scenario in terms of where this series starts. But the Penguins were able to build a 4-0 lead and make it stand, cruising along to a convincing win that, for all intents and purposes, put them in prime position to lock up the No. 2 seed in the division and ensure their playoff run would begin in Pittsburgh.
You can look at this one of two ways: the pessimist can say that, as a reward for a 50-win season, the Blue Jackets get to start the postseason against the second-best home team in the business. The optimist says the slate is clean and each game is its own story, and what happened in the regular season is pretty much immaterial.
Using either approach, it's impossible to ignore that home ice clearly means something for the Penguins, and the Blue Jackets' objective is to take it away.
