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COLUMBUS http://www.49ersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-tarvarius-moore-jersey , Ohio — The stakes will be high and Nationwide Arena is certain to be rocking when the Pittsburgh Penguins visit Nationwide Arena on Thursday night to face the Columbus Blue Jackets in the next-to-last game of the regular season.

The Metropolitan Division rivals are tied for second place in the standings with 96 points each. The winner will take a big step toward gaining home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

That’s a huge deal, especially for the Penguins (45-29-6) based on their record. They are 29-9-2 at home this season, the second-best mark in the NHL behind the Winnipeg Jets, and 16-20-4 on the road, the second-worst record behind the Colorado Avalanche among the teams still in playoff contention.

“You look at our track record throughout this year and years past, we’ve been good on home ice and that’s where we’re comfortable,” Pittsburgh defenseman Brian Dumoulin said. “Obviously, if we have win on the road we’ve shown we can do that, but home-ice is important. This upcoming game with Columbus is important for that.”

The Penguins already clinched a playoff spot, but the Blue Jackets (45-29-6) still are not officially in yet. Beating Pittsburgh for the first time this season (Columbus has lost all three games in the series, including two in shootouts) would remove all doubt.

The New Jersey Devils trail the Blue Jackets and Penguins by one point Alexander Alexeyev Capitals Jersey , the Philadelphia Flyers are two back and the Florida Panthers remain in the hunt, four points behind the Flyers for the second wild-card spot.

If the Penguins and Blue Jackets happen to finish with the same record after 82 games, Pittsburgh would win the tiebreaker.

“I think the biggest thing, you get a win and you’ve got one game left and you get home ice,” Columbus forward Matt Calvert said. “That’s something that we’re really focused on. That’s something we lost last year.”

The Penguins and Blue Jackets met in a first-round series last season that lasted just five games, with Pittsburgh winning three times at home.

Both teams expect a playoff-like environment in Thursday’s showdown.

“It’s an important game to both teams,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “They’re fighting for every bit as much as we’re fighting for. Any time you play divisional rivals it’s a heightened emotion. They tend to be exciting games to be a part of. It’s as close to a playoff atmosphere as you’re going to get because the stakes are so high for both teams.”

The Blue Jackets feel like they’re ready for the Penguins after rallying from a three-goal deficit for a 5-4 overtime victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night. Columbus is 13-1-1 in its last 15 games and appears to be peaking at the right time.

Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella just wants his team to have fun and enjoy the moment.

“It’s Pittsburgh. Eventually, if you have an opportunity to get in (the playoffs), as we’re still trying to fight, you’re going to have to go through there,” he said. “They’re that good. Two-time Stanley Cup winner. They’re a really good team.

“Let’s play. I’m just excited for the guys that they have an opportunity to play another game that means something. When it’s Pittsburgh http://www.49ersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-weston-richburg-jersey , there’s a little more there.”

Asked whether the Blue Jackets have earned the Penguins’ respect with their play, Columbus center Mark Letestu said, “I don’t care what they think. We regard ourselves in that way. We’ve always thought we belonged. The outside noise really doesn’t concern us.

“We feel like we’re in a good situation. It’s in our hands. We’re on home ice, against a rival. I’m excited about it. We’re going to be ready to play.”

Both teams will have plenty of skill on the ice. Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin (96), Phil Kessel (87) and Sidney Crosby (86) all rank in the top 10 in the league in points. Columbus’ Artemi Panarin set a franchise record on Tuesday with 80 points.

Also playing a prominent role for the Blue Jackets will be defensemen Seth Jones, Zach Werenski and Ian Cole, who will face his former Penguins teammates for the first time since he was acquired at the trade deadline in February.

“I would say it’ll be a playoff atmosphere,” Crosby said. “I think the two teams have played some pretty intense games over the years. With the importance of the game, the fact that we’ve been pretty closely matched all year, I think it’ll be very similar to the Washington game the other night.”

Brown’s attorney Mark Thomsen filed the lawsuit in federal court Mark Walton Color Rush Jersey , accusing police of ”discriminating against Mr. Brown on the basis of his race.” The lawsuit alleges officers involved in his arrest used their incident report to try to reframe what happened to give the impression Brown was resisted and obstructed them.

”Mr. Brown hopes that instead of the typical denial of the claims … the city actually admit to the wrongs, admit that his constitutional rights were violated,” Thomsen said at a news conference outside City Hall after filing the lawsuit.

Brown had been talking with officers while waiting for a citation for illegally parking in a disabled spot outside a Walgreens at about 2 a.m. on Jan. 26, when officers took him down because he didn’t immediately remove his hands from his pockets as ordered. An officer yells: ”Taser! Taser! Taser!”

Brown had been cooperative with officers and never appeared to threaten police before or during his arrest, according to police body-camera videos.

Some officers suspected Brown might have a firearm because they saw paper targets with holes in the back seat of his car, according to the lawsuit. Brown told officers he didn’t have a gun when they asked him, but they didn’t give him ”any real opportunity to comply” to their command that he take his hands out of his pockets, the lawsuit said.

Mayor Tom Barrett said in a statement he hopes something good comes from the lawsuit.

”I’m hopeful this incident will be a turning point and allow us to take those actions necessary to improve police community relations,” he said.

Police Chief Alfonso Morales has not responded to an Associated Press request for comment.

Morales apologized to Brown last month when body-camera video of the arrest was released. Brown wasn’t charged with anything and three officers were disciplined, with suspensions ranging from two to 15 days.

Eight other officers were ordered to undergo remedial training in professional communications.

A group of officers discussing the arrest shortly after it happened talked about ”trying to protect” themselves from possible backlash over their confrontation with an NBA player and synchronized ”their stories concerning what took place in the parking lot,” the lawsuit said.

Some of the details from their report made it into Morales’ written complaint about the officers’ actions http://www.titansauthorizedshops.com/authentic-harold-landry-jersey , according to the lawsuit, with the chief saying Brown ”refused to comply with a directive to remove his hands from his pockets and became resistive towards officers.”

One officer reacted to the arrest with glee, according to the lawsuit, which showed screenshots of him going on Twitter to mock Brown.

”Nice meeting Sterling Brown of the Milwaukee Bucks at work this morning! Lol(hash)FearTheDeer,” one tweet read, referencing a slogan used to cheer on the Bucks at games. That same officer posted a racist meme of Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant, according to a screenshot from the lawsuit.

Police have only released the body camera video of the first officer who contacted Brown. But additional body camera and squad car videos showed the moments after officers used a stun gun on him. In one, Brown is on the ground and handcuffed when an officer puts one of his boots on Brown’s ankle, holding it there. Brown doesn’t mention being in any discomfort but he questions the officer’s actions.

”C’mon man, you’re stepping on my ankle for what?” Brown said. In response, the officer said he was trying to prevent Brown from kicking anyone.

Other videos showed an officer talking with two colleagues seating in a squad car. They talked about how they could be perceived as racist for arresting a black Bucks player http://www.steelersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-james-washington-jersey , with one saying if anything goes wrong, it ”is going to be, `Ooh, the Milwaukee Police Department is all racist, blah, blah, blah.”’

Brown told the Journal Sentinel in an interview last month that he ”gave in” when police used a stun gun and that he didn’t do anything to resist because he didn’t want officers to ”pull out their guns.”

”I was just being smart. I just wanted to get out of the situation and get home,” he said.

The lawsuit adds to a long list of litigation against the police department alleging officer misconduct in recent years. A pending lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union in Wisconsin accusing the department of targeting black and Latino residents to stop and question them without cause. The city is in settlement talks with the ACLU.

Last year, Milwaukee paid $2.3 million to settle a lawsuit over the death of Dontre Hamilton, a mentally ill black man fatally shot by a police officer after the officer roused him from a park bench downtown.

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