The Pittsburgh Penguins are hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets as the NHL playoffs get started in the eastern conference and the matchup will be live from CONSOL Energy Center at 7:30 PM ET and the stream is coming online from the NBC Sports Live Extra website and the NBCSN will have the TV coverage for the game on Wednesday.
The Penguins come into the Stanley Cup playoffs as one of the favorites in the league to get out of the east and they are favored against the Blue Jackets as things kick off on Wednesday. The game will be on the NBC Sports Network and comes after the Penguins finished the season with a loss in a shootout against the Ottawa Senators. The team has Sidney Crosby looking very strong this season and he will be the key for the Penguins as they try to win another title and they should be battling with the Boston Bruins in the east.
Crosby once again led the team in scoring this year and was tops in goals, assists and points with 104 and they come into the playoffs after being one of the best offensive teams in the NHL. The team was ranked fifth in goals per game and averaged three goals per contest and they were ranked 10th in net with 2.5 goals per game and they were also excellent on special teams, ranking first in power play percentage and fifth in penalty kill percentage and they will need to have those units playing well as they try to knock off the Blue Jackets.
The Penguins and the Bruins will be the top teams in the east and the division rankings helped play out the new format, with wild card teams getting into the postseason as well and the middle division teams playing each other. The Red Wings were the second wild card to get in from the east and they play the number one seed in the Boston Bruins, while the Montreal Canadiens are the third division placer in the Atlantic and they are playing number two in the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Blue Jackets were the first wild card and the Penguins were a division champion out of the Metro and the New York Rangers will host the Philadelphia Flyers for the first time in nearly two decades after they finished two and three in the Metropolitan division. The west has a number of teams that could make a run to the finals and they have the LA Kings and Sharks going at each other, while the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks could be one of the best series overall. The Anaheim Ducks are the number one seed and they play against the Dallas Stars in the opening series and that starts on Wednesday as well.
Columbus comes into the game at 12th in the league in scoring and they come in after a win against the Panthers to end the season. The team also is 13th in goals against and 11th in power play percentage and they are also 14th in penalty kill percentage on the season.
Check here for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins live coverage.