Looking at the season series between Metropolitan Division rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Columbus Blue Jackets, there is little to suggest the teams are evenly matched.
They played each other five times and five times Pittsburgh emerged victorious, Trailing for 56 seconds in the 300 minutes of the series.
Riding a top-end power-play, the Penguins outscored the Blue Jackets, 16-7. Five of those goals came on the 19 power-play attempts Pittsburgh had in the series. By contrast, Columbus scored one power-play goal, on 14 attempts.
Plus, this matchup has been one-sided for quite some time. Since Sidney Crosby joined the League, he has lost to Columbus once in regulation, during his rookie season.
But the Blue Jackets are not ready to concede anything. As they look at the series, they see a couple of things in their favor.