The 2019 Stanley Cup Eastern Conference first round series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Columbus Blue Jackets was a playoff series in the National Hockey League (NHL) that took place during the 2019 playoffs. The series began on April 10, 2019 and ended on April 16.

The 2018–19 regular season saw the Tampa Bay Lightning tie the 1995–96 Detroit Red Wings for the most regular season wins in NHL history. The Columbus 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 the Presidents' 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 surrendered a 3–0 lead at the end of the first period and lost game one, 4–3. The Blue Jackets subsequently won game two, 5–1 and, in Columbus, Ohio, won games three and four, 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. 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 the Expansion 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. It was also the first time that a Presidents' Trophy winner was eliminated in the first round since 2012, though this would happen again in 2023.

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 of NBC Sports described Tampa's elimination as "one of the biggest letdowns in history", while the Tampa Bay Times described it as "the disappointment that all others are measured against".

The two teams would once again play each other the next year in the first round of the 2020 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 the Stanley Cup. Tampa Bay would go on to win back-to-back Stanley Cups in the 2020 and 2021, and would again make it to the Stanley Cup Final series in 2022, but would lose to the Colorado Avalanche.

Background

Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets entered the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs as a wild card qualifier, qualifying in back-to-back years for the first time in franchise history. They faced the Washington 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-time Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky and the team's leading scorer, Artemi Panarin were in the final year of their contracts before becoming unrestricted free agents. Blue Jackets general Jarmo Kekäläinen was an active participant near the trade deadline window of the 2018–19 season, acquiring several players with expiring contracts. On February 22, 2019, the Blue Jackets acquired Matt Duchene in a trade with the Ottawa Senators. A day later, the Blue Jackets traded again with the Senators, this time acquiring Ryan Dzingel in exchange for Anthony Duclair. On February 25, the Blue Jackets acquired Keith Kinkaid from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2022 NHL entry draft, and later acquired Adam McQuaid from the New York Rangers in exchange for Julius Bergman and fourth and seventh-round picks in the 2019 NHL entry draft.

Despite these acquisitions, the Blue Jackets initially struggled into March as they faced fierce competition from the Montreal Canadiens and the Carolina 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 the New York Rangers.

Tampa Bay Lightning

In the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Lightning eliminated the New Jersey Devils in the first round and the Boston Bruins in the second round, both in five games. However, they were defeated in the Eastern Conference finals by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Washington Capitals, in seven games.

Prior to the start of the 2018–19 season, it was announced that Steve Yzerman was resigning from his position as general manager, and Julien BriseBois took his place. The Lightning clinched their first Presidents' Trophy and second consecutive division title and secured home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Lightning finished the 2018–19 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 the 2022–23 Boston Bruins). They recorded 128 points in the regular season a total that is behind only the 1995–96 Detroit Red Wings (131) and the 2022–23 Boston Bruins) (135). 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.

Pivotal to the Lightning's success was their offense led by Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point, and Nikita Kucherov. On March 9, 2019, Kucherov set the Lightning single season record for points in a season with his 109th point of year. Kucherov went on to record his 40th goal of the season on April 5, and his 126th point, setting the record for most points in an NHL season during the salary cap era, a record formerly held by Joe Thornton. Kucherov ended the season with 128 points (41 goals and 87 assists), surpassing Alexander Mogilny for most points in the NHL by a Russian-born player and winning the Art Ross Trophy. Stamkos and Point also exceeded 40 goals and 90 overall points each by the seasons end.

Game summaries

Game one

In game one, the Blue Jackets scored four unanswered goals to overcome a three-goal deficit, winning the game by a score of 4–3. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st TBL Alex Killorn (1) – sh Unassisted 04:12 1–0 TBL TBL Anthony Cirelli (1) Erik Černák (1) and J. T. Miller (1) 11:01 2–0 TBL TBL Yanni Gourde (1) Mikhail Sergachev (1) and Jan Rutta (1) 17:50 3–0 TBL 2nd CBJ Nick Foligno (1) Josh Anderson (1) 09:15 3–1 TBL 3rd CBJ David Savard (1) Unassisted 07:56 3–2 TBL CBJ Josh Anderson (1) – sh Boone Jenner (1) 11:54 3–3 CBJ Seth Jones (1) – pp Artemi Panarin (1) and Zach Werenski (1) 14:05 4–3 CBJ Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st TBL Daniel Girardi Illegal check to head 02:55 2:00 CBJ Brandon Dubinsky Roughing 02:55 2:00 TBL Daniel Girardi (served by J. T. Miller) Roughing 02:55 2:00 CBJ David Savard Interference 19:27 2:00 2nd None 3rd CBJ Brandon Dubinsky High-sticking – double minor 09:23 4:00 TBL Alex Killorn High-sticking 12:16 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 6 11 9 26 13 11 5 29

Game two

Matt Duchene scored a goal and three assists for Columbus in game two, granting the Blue Jackets a 5–1 victory and a 2–0 series lead. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st CBJ Cam Atkinson (1) Matt Duchene (1) 05:15 1–0 CBJ CBJ Zach Werenski (1) – pp Matt Duchene (2) 11:44 2–0 CBJ 2nd CBJ Matt Duchene (1) – pp Artemi Panarin (2) and Zach Werenski (2) 01:28 3–0 CBJ 3rd TBL Mikhail Sergachev (1) J. T. Miller (2) and Erik Černák (2) 05:00 3–1 CBJ CBJ Riley Nash (1) Boone Jenner (2) 09:06 4–1 CBJ CBJ Artemi Panarin (1) Matt Duchene (3) and Oliver Bjorkstrand (1) 12:16 5–1 CBJ Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st TBL Adam Erne Delay of game (puck over glass) 07:08 2:00 TBL Ondřej Palát Hooking 11:40 2:00 TBL Brayden Point Fighting – major 15:11 5:00 CBJ Zach Werenski Fighting – major 15:11 5:00 2nd TBL Alex Killorn Interference 00:30 2:00 CBJ Bench (served by Matt Duchene) Too many men on the ice 04:21 2:00 3rd CBJ Nick Foligno Tripping 05:51 2:00 TBL Nikita Kucherov Tripping 15:34 2:00 TBL Nikita Kucherov Boarding – major 15:34 5:00 TBL Nikita Kucherov Game misconduct 15:34 10:00 TBL Victor Hedman Misconduct 15:34 10:00 CBJ Josh Anderson Roughing 15:34 2:00 CBJ Josh Anderson Misconduct 15:34 10:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 10 7 10 27 8 5 11 24

Game three

After Nikita Kucherov checked Markus Nutivaara into the boards in game two, the NHL Player Safety suspended the Lightning forward for game three. In game three, Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves, giving the Blue Jackets a 3–1 victory and their first 3–0 series lead in franchise history. Scoring summaryPeriodTeamGoalAssist(s)TimeScore1stNone 2nd CBJ Matt Duchene (2) Cam Atkinson (1) and Zach Werenski (3) 01:44 1–0 CBJ CBJ Oliver Bjorkstrand (1) – pp Seth Jones (1) and Alexandre Texier (1) 08:25 2–0 CBJ 3rd TBL Ondřej Palát (1) Erik Černák (1) and Tyler Johnson (3) 04:40 2–1 CBJ CBJ Cam Atkinson (2) – en Artemi Panarin (3) and Scott Harrington (1) 19:00 3–1 CBJ Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st TBL Alex Killorn Goaltender interference 06:13 2:00 TBL Ryan Callahan Roughing 15:50 2:00 CBJ Ryan Dzingel Roughing 15:50 2:00 2nd TBL Ryan Callahan Interference 06:50 2:00 3rd TBL Steven Stamkos Roughing 19:28 2:00 CBJ Riley Nash Unsportsmanlike conduct 19:28 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 3 11 17 31 12 10 8 30

Game four

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. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st CBJ Alexandre Texier (1) – pp Seth Jones (1) and Pierre-Luc Dubois (1) 02:26 1–0 CBJ CBJ Pierre-Luc Dubois (1) Oliver Bjorkstrand (2) and Adam Clendening (1) 03:48 2–0 CBJ TBL Steven Stamkos (1) Nikita Kucherov (1) and Anthony Cirelli (1) 08:44 2–1 CBJ 2nd CBJ Seth Jones (2) Cam Atkinson (2) and Matt Duchene (4) 06:28 3–1 CBJ TBL Cédric Paquette (1) Braydon Coburn (1) and Jan Rutta (2) 13:03 3–2 CBJ TBL Brayden Point (1) – pp Steven Stamkos (1) and Nikita Kucherov (2) 17:52 3–3 CBJ Oliver Bjorkstrand (2) Scott Harrington (2) and Pierre-Luc Dubois (2) 06:28 4–3 CBJ 3rd CBJ Artemi Panarin (2) – en Unassisted 18:07 5–3 CBJ CBJ Alexandre Texier (2) – en Zach Werenski (4) and Nick Foligno (1) 18:26 6–3 CBJ CBJ Matt Duchene (3) – en David Savard (1) and Scott Harrington (3) 19:51 7–3 CBJ Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st TBL Ryan McDonagh Slashing 00:45 2:00 TBL Nikita Kucherov Tripping 11:18 2:00 2nd CBJ Zach Werenski Cross-checking 16:43 2:00 3rd None Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 7 13 13 33 8 12 5 25

Team rosters

Columbus Blue Jackets Updated April 16, 2019

Tampa Bay Lightning Updated April 16, 2019

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