Series Preview: How the Forwards Match Up in Blue Jackets vs. Penguins

When you boast the best player in the business, it's hard not to like your odds.

The Pittsburgh Penguins begin this first-round series feeling pretty good about themselves, if for no other than reason than Sidney Crosby's tremendous regular season performance. Despite missing time, Crosby was the league's goal-scoring leader (44) and captured the Rocket Richard Trophy for his efforts in an injury-shortened season. If you're looking for an X-factor or a catalyst, look no further than No. 87 (whether you love him or hate him), who has once again cemented himself as the top player in the NHL.

Can the Blue Jackets stop slow him down? That's the big question entering the second installment of this postseason showdown.

COLUMBUS Blue Jackets

Those inside the organization will tell you that they've been waiting for Cam Atkinson to have a season like this.

They would also tell you that Alexander Wennberg's breakout season was only a matter of time. And it could not have come at a better time, as the club faced a plethora of questions last season after trading (arguably) its best offensive player, Ryan Johansen, to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Seth Jones. If you haven't heard, Jones is really good, so no need to get too worked up about the trade.

Offense and scoring have been hot-button topics around the Blue Jackets. Skeptics will say they haven't had an elite goal scorer since Rick Nash, which is partially true, but they also have never had the depth they currently enjoy. John Tortorella and his staff have done a tremendous job in finding complementary pairs of forwards, allowing duos to find chemistry while experimenting with secondary options that could benefit them down the stretch and into the postseason.

Atkinson finished the regular season with 35 goals - shattering his previous career-high of 27 and also setting a new personal best with 62 points in his age-27 season. Atkinson slowed down near the end of the regular season, earning a temporary seat on the bench in Game 81, but Tortorella is a huge fan of his and will be counting on him to produce in the playoffs.

Timely as it is, Wennberg's impressive season has slotted him into the Jackets' No. 1 center position for the foreseeable future. He is a playmaker by nature, always looking to set up his line mates, and has been implored by his coaches to shoot the puck more often. While they would like to see more of that, it's hard to argue with his 46 assists and 59 points. If the Blue Jackets' power play is going to break out of its recent funk, Wennberg's offensive instincts need to rise to the occasion as he was the man-advantage anchor for most of the year.

Where the Blue Jackets can make some noise in this series is with their depth up front: Nick Foligno rebounded from a horrific 2015-16 season to put up 26 goals and 51 points, a night-and-day improvement from a year ago. Brandon Saad is the model of consistency, regularly driving 5-on-5 play regardless of line mates and ending the regular season with another 50-point effort (24 goals, 29 assists). Free-agent addition Sam Gagner started red-hot and cooled off in the second half, but still established a new career-high with 51 points and gave Columbus a huge lift both on the power play and as a depth specialist.

Beyond those guys, it's a little murkier: the unpredictability of players like Brandon Dubinsky (41 points), Scott Hartnell (37 points) and Boone Jenner (34 points) would appear to make them a tough match for the Penguins; the truth is that the scoring has been inconsistent for those players, and if the Blue Jackets are going to make this series interesting, they need strong performances from the aforementioned players in hopes that it makes the Penguins' defensive assignments a little more convoluted. It goes without saying: the more guys scoring, the better off you are.

Here's a look at the Jackets' top offensive forwards from 2016-17:

Pittsburgh penguins

Despite a barrage of injuries, the Penguins finished the year with eight forwards cracking the 30-point barrier. That's pretty impressive, especially when one of them is minor-league call-up Jake Guentzel, who played primarily with Crosby and put up 33 points in 40 games.

The Blue Jackets also had eight forwards with 30-plus points. Like the Penguins, their ninth highest-scoring forward had 29 points (Josh Anderson for Columbus, Chris Kunitz for Pittsburgh). One might look at the two clubs and separate them based on the two-headed monster of Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, which wouldn't be unfair, but the balance on both sides makes this a fascinating series.

Pittsburgh, defending its second Stanley Cup title in seven years, goes into this playoff run with a level of uncertainty it didn't face last year; they expect Malkin to be ready. Carl Hagelin has been skating on his own, but his status for Game 1 isn't concrete just yet. Conor Sheary has been injured. Phil Kessel is fighting the puck. It's not like this Penguins team doesn't have its share of concerns, it's just whether the Blue Jackets have the answers on their end to mitigate some of the game-breaking talent on the Pittsburgh side.

Hell, even 40-year-old Matt Cullen had a 30-point season. The Penguins are deep, y'all.