Columbus Blue Jackets' Nikita Nikitin, left to right, of Russia, Boone Jenner, Ryan Johansen and Dalton Prout celebrate their goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period of a first-round NHL playoff hockey game Monday, April 21, 2014, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete) (The Associated Press)
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets will not try to fall behind 3-1 on the scoreboard in Wednesday night's Game 4.
In each game of their Stanley Cup first-round series, a team has led by that score — and then lost.
The Penguins did it in Game 2, the Blue Jackets in Games 1 and 3, including a 4-3 home loss on Monday night.
The Blue Jackets have shown they can play with the powerful Penguins. But they have yet to prove they can close the deal.
The Penguins are up 2-1 in the series even though their biggest stars — Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, James Neal and Chris Kunitz — haven't scored a goal.
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