PITTSBURGH (AP) The Pittsburgh Penguins downplayed the idea
they tried to send a message during a decisive 4-1 victory over the Columbus
Blue Jackets on Tuesday night Youth Jourdan Lewis #27
Jersey , a win that gave the defending Stanley Cup champions the
inside track on home-ice advantage when the teams meet in the playoffs next
week. ”I mean at the end of the day it’s just another win,” goaltender Matt
Murray said after stopping 38 shots. ”Everything resets moving forward.” Maybe,
but the way the Penguins pulled away in their final home game of the regular
season – quick passing, production from unexpected places and Murray’s steady
hand – could go a long way toward escaping what could be the best first-round
series of the postseason. ”I like the way our team is tracking,” Penguins coach
Mike Sullivan said. ”I think we’re really starting to establish the playoff
mindset you need to win this time of year.” Patric Hornqvist picked up his 20th
goal of the season for Pittsburgh. Rookie Jake Guentzel added his 14th, Carter
Rowney his second and Brian Dumoulin his first in more than two years as the
Penguins moved three points ahead of Columbus in the race for second-place in
the Metropolitan Division with three games remaining. The Penguins have won
three straight to sprint ahead of the slumping Blue Jackets Youth Ezekiel Elliott #21
Jersey , who are winless in their last four and have dropped three
consecutive regulation games for the first time this season. Brandon Dubinsky
scored a short-handed goal midway through the third period to avoid the shutout.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 23 shots but the Blue Jackets struggled to get anything
going around the Pittsburgh net, settling for long-range shots that either
sailed wide of the net or were gobbled up by Murray. ”We’re just simply in a
funk offensively and tonight didn’t get any better,” Columbus coach John
Tortorella said. ”We have to continue to work at all parts of our game, but the
offensive part starting with our top guys, we’ve got to get some sort of
situation where we’re making plays.” The teams are almost assured of facing each
other when the playoffs begin next week, a rematch from a 2014 first-round
series the Penguins won in six taut games and seemed to signal Columbus’ arrival
as a legitimate contender. Three years later Youth Damien Wilson #57
Jersey , Columbus has officially arrived, though the team that
spent the better part of 60 minutes chasing the Penguins around sold-out PPG
Paints Arena hardly looked like the one that came in 2-0-1 over its first three
meetings of the season. The Blue Jackets tried to push Pittsburgh around,
rattling the boards in the process but not the Penguins. The Penguins’ fourth
line helped bolster a largely lifeless performance in a victory over Carolina on
Sunday and the momentum carried over. Rowney put Pittsburgh in front with 1:09
left in the first period when he planted himself in front of Bobrovsky and
redirected a feed from Scott Wilson over Bobrovsky’s shoulder. ”It was just a
kick in the teeth,” Tortorella said. ”I mean it was just a free goal. We have
complete control of the puck and it ends up in the back of the net in the last
minute of the period.” Hornqvist doubled Pittsburgh’s lead just before the
game’s midway point off a pretty feed from Tom Kuhnhackl. Dumoulin, who scored a
pair of goals during last year’s run to the Cup, reached the back of the net in
the regular season for the first time since Dec. 15 Youth Damontre Moore #58
Jersey , 2014, when he saved a clear at the edge of the blue line,
carried the puck behind the Columbus net then saw his wraparound smack off Cam
Atkinson and in 12:30 into the second, ending a 151-game regular season goalless
drought. ”I’m sure (Atkinson’s) gotten a couple on me so he owed me one,”
Dumoulin said. NOTES: Penguins C Sidney Crosby finished with two assists to give
him 86 points on the season. … Columbus rookie D Zack Werenski did not play
while dealing with an upper-body injured suffered in a loss to Washington on
Sunday. … Penguins D Trevor Daley skated on Tuesday morning and is hopeful to
return before the postseason begins. Daley hasn’t played since undergoing
arthroscopic knee surgery on Feb. 23. … The Penguins went 0 for 3 on the power
play. The Blue Jackets were 0 for 1. … Pittsburgh’s 109 points tied the 2013-14
team for the second-highest total in club history. … Penguins Fs Bryan Rust and
Matt Cullen left with injuries and did not return. UP NEXT Blue Jackets: Host
Winnipeg on Thursday. Penguins: End regular season with three-game road trip
starting in New Jersey on Thursday.. Kris
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