Bryan Rust scored twice in the second period, after Pittsburgh took a 1-0 lead on a goal from Phil Kessel in the first. Sidney Crosby and Scott Wilson scored for the Penguins in the third period, and Evgeni Malkin had three assists. He leads the playoffs with 11 points (two goals, nine assists).
After Blue Jackets forward Sam Gagner was called for holding at 8:41 of the first period, Kessel gave the Penguins the lead at 9:07. He shuffled the puck to Justin Schultz along the blue line before receiving a pass back near the left circle. Kessel shot from the outer edge past teammate Patric Hornqvist for his second power-play goal of the series. Kessel also had two assists.
Rust scored 1:07 into the second period to extend the lead to 2-0 and at 3:50 to make it 3-0. He had five goals in the series.
William Karlsson made it 3-1 at 9:30 of the second period and Boone Jenner made it 3-2 with a power-play goal at 12:24. Jenner's goal was upheld following a review that determined it was not scored using a high-stick.
Columbus outshot Pittsburgh 51-32, 36-20 in the final two periods. The Blue Jackets thought they tied it 3-3 3:52 into the third period but Alex Wennberg was called for goale interference.
"That was a team effort," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "I like our group. I'll tell you right now, I like our group."
The Penguins took a 4-2 lead on a power-play goal by Crosby at 5:31 of the third period and made it 5-2 on Wilson's first NHL playoff goal 51 seconds later.
Columbus forward/captain Nick Foligno (lower body) was scratched after skating with usual linemates Brandon Dubinsky and Cam Atkinson during warmups.
Washington and Toronto are tied 2-2 in their first-round series with Game 5 on Friday.
