It was almost as if the Penguins took the playoff blueprint they used last season and tucked it away somewhere deep inside PPG Paints Arena, where only coach Mike Sullivan and a few select others could see it.
Without the guy you’d prefer to start in goal for Game 1? No big deal.
Bad first period? Don’t sweat it. There’s always the second.
Bryan Rust, Phil Kessel and Nick Bonino … of course they’re going to score postseason goals.
The Penguins followed a familiar script en route to a 3-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series on Wednesday at PPG Paints Arena, the same one they used to capture the franchise’s fourth Stanley Cup last spring.