PITTSBURGH _ Should the NHL decide to pivot and begin awarding goals based on hits delivered, the Penguins' first-round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets could take a decided turn.
Doubtful that happens, however.
Doesn't seem to be much of a precedent for that sort of seismic change, especially in the middle of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Assuming there are no major rule changes made within the next week or so, and assuming this keeps up, the Penguins' 4-1 victory in Game 2 Friday at PPG Paints Arena gives them a commanding lead in this best-of-seven series, both mathematically and mentally.
The Blue Jackets again tried to blast the Penguins to smithereens, accumulating a 50-30 edge in hits. The Penguins again didn't crumble. They barely even retaliated. Not even when Matt Calvert snapped his stick by checking Tom Kuhnhackl from behind in the final minute.
The Blue Jackets certainly tried to ratchet up the offensive pressure, following coach John Tortorella's directive of doing a better job to pump shots through.
For those of you scoring at home, that's a hit advantage for Columbus of 99-65 through two games and 45 blocked shots for the Penguins, an average of 22.5 per game that's actually better than their season mark (15.9).
The man perhaps most appreciative of that effort is another delightful, developing storyline, as this series shifts to Columbus for Game 3 on Sunday night, the Penguins holding a 2-0 lead.
That would be goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, the surprise starter in Game 1. The man showered with singsong chants of his name for much of his night. The man whose game occasionally consists of doing things like he did in the second period: leaping to grab a puck like it was a rebound.
It's been an odd couple of days for Fleury, but certainly fulfilling. Coach Mike Sullivan broke his own precedent Thursday when he announced following practice that Fleury would start, the result of a lower-body injury to Matt Murray.
With some actual time to prepare _ instead of learning he'd start after warmup _ Fleury delivered the same, solid performance his teammates have come to expect, stopping 39 of 40 shots to pick up his 55th career playoff win.
His biggest one? Could have been a one-on-one stop of Pine's Brandon Saad at 10:43 of the third period and the Penguins protecting a 3-1 lead. Using his armpit to do it, no less.
Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel and Evgeni Malkin scored the Penguins' goals, Crosby becoming the 57th player in NHL history to score 50 or more in the postseason.
His linemates might remember some of the guys on that list, although it's more likely they'd have to Google the names.
Sid and the Kids were spectacular on this night, at no point more obvious than when Conor Sheary harassed Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, won the puck back to Guentzel, and Guentzel used his stick and skate to feed Crosby. That produced a 1-0 Penguins lead at 8:31 of the first.
After Brandon Saad beat Fleury from the left circle at 7:00 of the second period, Guentzel and Crosby executed a two-on-one break with precision, Guentzel using his quick release to score his sixth goal in seven games counting the regular season.
Malkin stretched the Penguins' lead to 3-1 at 2:01 of the third period, scoring from a severe angle to give the Penguins some much-needed insurance before Patric Hornqvist tacked on an empty-netter late.
Beating the Penguins physically is a strategy that Tortorella doubled down on during Thursday's practice, and Friday he urged his team to stick to its identity.
The Blue Jackets did. They even got the blue paint more frequently than they did in Game 1, but the Penguins' defense was too good, Fleury too steady in his puck-tracking and positioning.
Columbus has scored two or fewer goals in seven of its past nine games when you include the regular season.
The second period ended with a kerfuffle in the corner to the right of Fleury. Scott Hartnell approached Crosby. Brandon Dubinsky tried to jump in, and Ian Cole pulled him away.
It represented something of a rarity in this series so far: The Penguins displaying a visible amount of frustration. For the better part of 120 minutes, they've simply skated away and scored.
The win was just the Penguins' third in their past eight Game 2s where they had been victorious.
Furthermore, it represents only the third time since the Detroit series in 2009 that the Penguins went 2-0 to start when they held home-ice advantage.
