| 2019Eastern Conference first round | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Nationwide Arena inColumbus, Ohio, site of games 3 and 4 | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Location(s) | Columbus:Nationwide Arena (3, 4) Tampa Bay:Amalie Arena (1, 2) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coaches | Columbus:John Tortorella Tampa Bay:Jon Cooper | ||||||||||||||||||
| Captains | Columbus:Nick Foligno Tampa Bay:Steven Stamkos | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referees | Marc Joannette,Jon McIsaac (1) Francis Charron, Gord Dwyer (2) Wes McCauley, Brian Pochmarra (3) Kelly Sutherland, Chris Lee (4) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Dates | April 10–16 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Networks | Canada (English):Sportsnet Canada (French):TVA Sports United States (English) (National):USA (1), CNBC (2 and 4) and NBCSN (3) Columbus:Fox Sports Ohio Tampa Bay:Fox Sports Sun | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | John Forslund andPierre McGuire (Games 1–2, 4);John Forslund andBrian Boucher (Game 3); (NBC Sports andSportsnet) Jeff Rimer andJody Shelley (Fox Sports Ohio) Rick Peckham andBrian Engblom (Fox Sports Sun) | ||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
The2019 Stanley Cup Eastern Conference First Round series between theTampa Bay Lightning and theColumbus Blue Jackets was aplayoff series in theNational Hockey League's (NHL)2018–19 season. The series began on April 10, 2019 and ended on April 16.
The2018–19 NHL season saw theTampa Bay Lightning tie the1995–96 Detroit Red Wings for the most regular season wins in NHL history. TheColumbus Blue Jackets came into the series as the eighth seed, finishing with 98 points and qualifying for the playoffs in their second to last game. Tampa Bay won thePresidents' Trophy with 128 points and had beaten Columbus in all three regular season meetings by a combined score of 17 to 3. The Lightning were seen by analysts as the overwhelming favorites to win the series. However, the series ended in a shocking elimination for the Lightning; they blew a 3–0 lead at the end of the first period and lost Game 1, 4–3. The Blue Jackets subsequently won Game 2, 5–1 and, inColumbus, Ohio, won games 3 and 4, 3–1 and 7–3 respectively. The series concluded with Columbus sweeping the Lightning in four games, with a +11 goal differential, while never trailing in the final three games.
The series marked several NHL records. Tampa's elimination was the first time a Presidents' Trophy winner was swept by an eighth seed.[1] It was the fifth time in NHL history that a team with the best regular season record got swept in the first round (and the first time since theExpansion Era). The Blue Jackets' victory was their first ever playoff series win in franchise history and ended the longest playoff series win drought starting from the fewest wins.[1] It was also the first time that a Presidents' Trophy winner was eliminated in the first round since2012, though this would happen again in2023.
Many commentators consider this series to be one of the greatest upsets in NHL history, considering that the Blue Jackets trailed the Lightning by 30 points exactly during the regular season.Jeremy Roenick ofNBC Sports described Tampa's elimination as "one of the biggest letdowns in history", while theTampa Bay Times described it as "the disappointment that all others are measured against".[2]
The two teams would once again play each other the next year in the first round of the2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, where the Lightning would avenge the previous year's loss winning that series 4–1 and would eventually go on to win theStanley Cup. Tampa Bay would go on to win back-to-back Stanley Cups in the 2020 and2021, and would again make it to the Stanley Cup Finals in2022.
The Blue Jackets entered the2018 Stanley Cup playoffs as a wild card qualifier, qualifying in back-to-back years for the first time in franchise history. They faced theWashington Capitals in the first round, winning the first two games in overtime and their first series lead. However, they lost the next four games and the series in six games.
Two-timeVezina Trophy winnerSergei Bobrovsky and the team's leading scorer,Artemi Panarin were in the final year of their contracts before becomingunrestricted free agents. Blue Jackets GMJarmo Kekalainen was an active participant near the trade deadline window of the2018–19 season, acquiring several players with expiring contracts. On February 22, the Blue Jackets acquiredMatt Duchene in a trade with theOttawa Senators.[3] A day later, the Blue Jackets traded again with the Senators, this time acquiringRyan Dzingel in exchange forAnthony Duclair.[4] On February 25, the Blue Jackets acquiredKeith Kinkaid from theNew Jersey Devils in exchange for a fifth round pick in the2022 NHL Entry Draft,[5] and later acquiredAdam McQuaid from theNew York Rangers in exchange forJulius Bergman and fourth and seventh round picks in the2019 NHL Entry Draft.[6]
Despite these acquisitions, the Blue Jackets initially struggled into March as they faced fierce competition from theMontreal Canadiens and theCarolina Hurricanes for the last two Wild Card spots. They won seven of their last eight games and on April 5, 2019, the Blue Jackets clinched the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with a 3–2 shootout win over theNew York Rangers.[7]
In the2018 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Lightning eliminated theNew Jersey Devils in the first round and theBoston Bruins in the second round, both in five games. However, they were defeated in the Eastern Conference finals by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, theWashington Capitals, in seven games.
Prior to the start of the2018–19 season, it was announced thatSteve Yzerman was resigning from his position as GM, andJulien BriseBois took his place.[8][9] The Lightning clinched their firstPresidents' Trophy and second consecutive division title and secured home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.
The Lightning finished the regular season with 62 wins, tied with the 1995–96 Detroit Red Wings for most wins in a single season in NHL history (a record since broken by the2022–23 Boston Bruins).[10] They recorded 128 points in the regular season a total that is behind only the 1995–96 Detroit Red Wings (131) and the2022–23 Boston Bruins) (135).[11] They were also the highest-scoring team on average (3.89) since the 1995–96 Red Wings and, of their 62 wins, 30 were by a margin of three or more goals, which was tied for the most since 1992–93.[11]
Pivotal to the Lightning's success was their offense led bySteven Stamkos,Brayden Point, andNikita Kucherov. On March 9, 2019, Kucherov set the Lightning single season record for points in a season with his 109th point of year.[12] Kucherov went on to record his 40th goal of the season on April 5, 2019 and his 126th point, setting the record for most points in an NHL season during the salary cap era, a record formerly held byJoe Thornton.[13] Kucherov ended the season with 128 points (41 goals and 87 assists), surpassingAlexander Mogilny for most points in the NHL by a Russian-born player and winning theArt Ross Trophy.[14][15] Stamkos and Point also exceeded 40 goals and 90 overall points each by the seasons end.[16]
In game one, the Blue Jackets scored four unanswered goals to overcome a three-goal deficit, winning 4–3.[17]Matt Duchene scored a goal and two assists for Columbus in game two, granting the Blue Jackets a 5–1 victory and a 2–0 series lead.[18] During the gameNikita Kucherov hitMarkus Nutivaara in the head, prompting NHL Player Safety to suspend the Lightning forward for game three.[19] During said game,Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves, giving the Blue Jackets a 3–1 victory and their first 3–0 series lead in franchise history.[20] In game four, the Lightning, desperate for a victory, could not overcome the early two-goal deficit they faced in the first period, allowing Columbus to score three empty-net goals late in the third period and win 7–3, sweeping Tampa Bay 4–0 and earning their first playoff series victory in franchise history. The Lightning became the first Presidents' Trophy winners to be swept in the opening round, and the first Presidents' Trophy winners to be defeated in the opening round since 2012.[21]
| April 10 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 4–3 | Tampa Bay Lightning | Amalie Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 04:12 –sh –Alex Killorn (1) 11:01 –Anthony Cirelli (1) 17:50 –Yanni Gourde (1) | ||||||
| Nick Foligno (1) – 09:15 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| David Savard (1) – 07:56 Josh Anderson (1) –sh – 11:54 Seth Jones (1) –pp – 14:05 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Sergei Bobrovsky 26 saves / 29 shots | Goalie stats | Andrei Vasilevskiy 22 saves / 26 shots | ||||||
| April 12 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 5–1 | Tampa Bay Lightning | Amalie Arena | Recap | |||
| Cam Atkinson (1) – 05:15 Zach Werenski (1) –pp – 11:44 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Matt Duchene (1) –pp – 01:28 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Riley Nash (1) – 09:06 Artemi Panarin (1) – 12:15 | Third period | 05:00 –Mikhail Sergachev (1) | ||||||
| Sergei Bobrovsky 23 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Andrei Vasilevskiy 22 saves / 27 shots | ||||||
| April 14 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 1–3 | Columbus Blue Jackets | Nationwide Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 01:44 –Matt Duchene (2) 08:25 –pp –Oliver Bjorkstrand (1) | ||||||
| Ondrej Palat (1) – 04:40 | Third period | 19:00 –en –Cam Atkinson (2) | ||||||
| Andrei Vasilevskiy 27 saves / 29 shots | Goalie stats | Sergei Bobrovsky 30 saves / 31 shots | ||||||
| April 16 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 3–7 | Columbus Blue Jackets | Nationwide Arena | Recap | |||
| Steven Stamkos (1) – 08:44 | First period | 02:26 –pp –Alexandre Texier (1) 03:48 –Pierre-Luc Dubois (1) | ||||||
| Cedric Paquette (1) – 13:03 Brayden Point (1) –pp – 17:52 | Second period | 06:28 –Seth Jones (2) 18:46 –Oliver Bjorkstrand (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 18:07 –en –Artemi Panarin (2) 18:26 –en – Alexandre Texier (2) 19:51 –en –Matt Duchene (3) | ||||||
| Andrei Vasilevskiy 18 saves / 22 shots | Goalie stats | Sergei Bobrovsky 30 saves / 33 shots | ||||||
| Columbus won series 4–0 | |
Updated April 16, 2019[22]
Updated April 16, 2019[22]
Prior to game four between theBoston Bruins and theToronto Maple Leafs, Maple Leafs' forwardZach Hyman expressed shock over the Lightning's exit from the playoffs. "I don't think Columbus is really an eighth seed. They loaded up at the (trade) deadline. They've got some great players. But Tampa set a bunch of records, so it's pretty surprising." Hyman's teammateTravis Dermott acknowledged a difference between the regular season and postseason, but continued to state: "It's kind of crazy to think such a good team in the regular season can go out in four like that. You never really would have thunk (sic) it."[23] Bruins head coachBruce Cassidy acknowledged that every team had a chance, but also admitted that he did not guess the Lightning would fail to win a single game in the series.[23]
| Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) tweeted: |
We don't have any words and we know you don't want to hear them. We understand your anger, your frustration, your sadness. Everything you're feeling – we get it. This isn't the ending we imagined, and certainly not the one we wanted. Thank you for being there the entire way.
April 16, 2019[24]
TheTampa Bay Times' sports section greeted the game three result with a headline reading "Torturella". When the Blue Jackets' sweep was confirmed, Tampa Bay Times' frontpage headlines read "Fizzled Sticks" and "Floored". The paper savaged the Lightning for their poor play, suggesting their defeat "was the final chapter in a whole new story of despair. In a way, it was as if an entire community was duped. For six months, the Lightning had you believing you were seeing something historic. And in the end, it was all choke and mirrors."[25]
Meanwhile, Columbus paperThe Columbus Dispatch heralded the results, with its frontpage headline reading "A Sweep to Savor".[26] Game four of the series delivered a household rating of 9.83 forFox Sports Ohio, the highest-ever ratings for a Blue Jackets telecast. On average, the series delivered an average of 6.48 HH in the Columbus metropolitan area.[27]
TheNew York Times described the series' result as a playoff meltdown for the Lightning, suggesting that the Lightning could be amongst the biggest playoff underachievers in sports history.[28]USA Today described the Lightning's exit as one of the worst playoff flops in NHL history, whileDeadspin stated "[the Lightning] failed to show up in their first-round series against the tremendously underestimated Columbus Blue Jackets, and they paid the price."[29][30] In an interview onNPR, Greg Wyshynski ofESPN stated the Lightning had to apologize to their fans. Wyshynski went on to state that the only other team in the history ofthe four major sports leagues in America that failed to win a playoff game after equivalent levels of regular season success was the2011 Green Bay Packers team that went 15–1. "But in [the Packers'] case, we're talking about one game. [The Lightning] is a team that had four chances to win a game, and they couldn't do it."[31]
In Canada, Rory Boylen ofSportsnet described the series as the biggest upset in the salary cap era of the NHL. He postulated that the result may be a culmination of how the Lightning got eliminated in recent seasons, going as far back as their first round loss in the2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs against theMontreal Canadiens. In his words, "time will tell if these Lightning are like theSan Jose Sharks – a squad that seemed to have everything in place for years and even got to one Stanley Cup Final, but could never win it all – or if they'll eventually put it together for a successful run asWashington [Capitals] did last season."[32]
WFTS-TV reported that the city of Tampa could lose up to $50 million in potential revenue as a result of the sweep.[33] Conversely, in Columbus, merchandise sales tripled as a result of the Blue Jackets' surprise series win.[34]
| |
| Franchise | |
| History | |
| Personnel |
|
| Arena | |
| Affiliates | |
| Media | |
| Culture and lore | |
| |
| Franchise | |
| History | |
| Personnel |
|
| Arenas | |
| Rivalries | |
| Affiliates | |
| Media |
|
| Culture and lore | |
