THE MATCHUP

Pittsburgh Penguins: 50-21-11, 2nd in Metropolitan

Columbus Blue Jackets: 50-24-8, 3rd in Metropolitan

Pittsburgh: The defending Stanley Cup champions arrive in these playoffs with big expectations to repeat. Sidney Crosby will take this team as far as it can go, but this isn’t like last spring when they surprised everybody. The loss of Kris Letang to season-ending surgery leaves a huge hole on the defence. It was nice that Matt Murray had a Cinderella spring last year, but that means nothing this year. The Penguins have the talent to be able to get the job done, but coach Mike Sullivan has a lot to prove this spring. A great regular season doesn’t always lead to a great playoff.

Columbus: The Jackets have had a strong season, but they were winless in six (0-5-1) before beating Toronto in their final game of the season. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky should be a candidate for the Hart Trophy because he’s helped carry the load. There will be absolutely no pressure on the Jackets in this series because nobody will expect much from them. The question mark is always coach John Tortorella. Yes, he’s won a Stanley Cup, but you wonder how he’ll react if the going gets tough against the Penguins. Columbus has a lot to prove here.

Season series: Tied 2- 0-2 All- time playoff series: Pittsburgh leads 1- 0

Who wins? The Columbus Blue Jackets just have better goaltending with Bobrovksy. That’s the bottom line. He’s had a great year and this is the time when teams rely on their netminder to carry the load. All the pressure is on the Penguins whether people agree or not. It’s time for the Jackets to make the next step. Columbus in six

Pittsburgh’s key player:

F Sidney Crosby has 49 goals and 137 points in 124 career playoff games. This team doesn’t have the supporting cast it’s had in the past.

Columbus’s key player:

F Brandon Saad has playoff experience with the Chicago Blackhawks. That’s why he was acquired by the Jackets and he needs to step up.

Penguins lineup

Jake Guentzel, Sidney Crosby, Conor Sheary

Tom Kuhnhackl, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel

Dominik Simon, Nick Bonino, Tom Sestito

Scott Wilson, Matt Cullen, Josh Archibald

Defensive pairings

Brian Dumoulin, Justin Schultz Ian Cole, Trevor Daley Ron Hainsey, Mark Streit

Goalies

Matt Murray Marc-Andre Fleury

Columbus’s lineup

Nick Foligno, Brandon Dubinsky, Cam Atkinson

Brandon Saad, Alexander Wennberg, Sam Gagner

Scott Hartnell, Boone Jenner, Oliver Bjorkstrand

Matt Calvert, William Karlsson, Josh Anderson

Defensive pairings

Gabriel Carlsson, Seth Jones Jack Johnson, David Savard Kyle Quincey, Markus Nutivaara

Goalies

Sergei Bobrovsky Joonas Korpisalo