Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Watch FREE: NHL PLAYOFFS Live Streaming Online NHL Hockey from Nationwide Arena at 7:00 PM ET, Watch Sidney Crosby Tonight!!

The Penguins, nursing a M.A.S.H. unit of injuries all season, could use an extra day or two to rest before Round 2.

Pittsburgh is brimming with confidence coming off a 3-1 victory at home on Saturday night in which it played with more swagger, more physicality and more aggression than in the previous four games combined.

"We had a great game last night and we're going into a loud building in Columbus with a chance to close out the series," Penguins forward James Neal told the team's website. "It's going to be the toughest game -- it always is -- the fourth (win)."

As for the Blue Jackets, what else is new? They'll be desperate.

They have faced playoff-like games for more than a month, battling just to make the postseason when the odds were against them, and now battling just to stay alive.

In taking Game 5, the Penguins locked down Columbus' attack and denied the Blue Jackets any kind of flow with the puck. On top of that, for the first time in the series they were on relatively even terms in hits (a 37-34 Columbus advantage) and won 25 of 35 faceoffs in the final two periods.

Yes, the Penguins would love to take the loud and raucous crowd out of play early. Yes, they'd also love to get home and enjoy some R&R instead of playing in a pressure-packed Game 7 two days later in Pittsburgh against a team that has been a handful for them.

"We've dealt with adversity all year," coach Todd Richards said. "We've had games where maybe we haven't played our best, or maybe the other team has just outplayed us, and we've responded the next game. I'm looking at this as a rebound game."

The Blue Jackets have already collected the first playoff win in franchise history (Game 2) and the first home playoff win in the team's 13 seasons. Even though they face elimination, they say the pressure's still on the Penguins.

Meanwhile, the Penguins just try to keep doing what they did Saturday night.

The game will be live streaming online at gofirstrowus.eu/sport/ice-hockey.html‎