TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING VS. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
Lightning: 62-16-4, 128 points, first in
Atlantic
Blue Jackets: 47-31-4, 98 points, fifth in
Metropolitan, second wild card in Eastern Conference
Season series: TBL 3-0-0; CBJ 0-3-0
THE SKINNY
The Tampa Bay Lightning tied the NHL record shared by the
1995-96 Detroit Red Wings for most wins in a season and finished with the
fourth-most points in history. Right wing Nikita
Kucherov set records in winning the Art Ross Trophy as the
leading scorer in the NHL (128 points; 41 goals, 87 assists).
Kucherov set Lightning records for most assists and points
in a single season. He broke the NHL record for most points by a Russia-born
player (Alexander Mogilny, 127 points in 1992-93) and had the most points by
any player since 1995-96, when Mario Lemieux had 161 and Jaromir Jagr had 149
with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
One of the Lightning's more impressive feats of the season
is how they finished, going 10-3-0 after clinching a Stanley Cup Playoff berth
March 9.
The Columbus Blue Jackets went 7-1-0 in their final eight
games and clinched a playoff berth with a 3-2 shootout win at the New York
Rangers on Friday.
Getting into the playoffs was a relief after the Blue
Jackets made the biggest splash in the NHL before the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline
on Feb. 25. They added pending unrestricted free agent forwards Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel in
separate trades with the Ottawa Senators. They also kept forward Artemi
Panarin and goalie Sergei
Bobrovsky, each pending UFAs.
The Blue Jackets went 5-7-1 in their first 13 games after
the deadline and were on the outside of the playoff race March 21. But they
found their way in, outscoring the opposition 35-14 with three shutouts by
Bobrovsky in their final eight games. Panarin had 11 points (three goals, eight
assists), including the shootout winner against the Rangers.
GAME BREAKERS
Lightning: The list of candidates is long,
including centers Stamkos and Brayden Point,
who scored 45 and 41 goals, respectively. But Tampa Bay's game breaker has to
be Kucherov, who is the favorite to win the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP. He played
in all 82 games and had at least one point in 62 of them, including two or more
in 38. Tampa Bay went 54-5-3 when he had a point and 8-11-1 when he didn't.
Blue Jackets: Columbus acquired Panarin in a
trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on June 23, 2017 because it needed a forward
with his dynamic offensive ability. Panarin has been everything the Blue
Jackets thought they were getting when they made the trade for Brandon Saad. He had 87
points (28 goals, 59 assists) in 79 games this season, setting team records for
assists and points for the second straight season after getting 82 points (27
goals, 55 assists) in 81 games of 2017-18.
GOALTENDING
Lightning: Andrei
Vasilevskiy was first in wins (39) and save percentage (.925),
second in goals-against average (2.40) and third with six shutouts among
goalies who played at least 50 games. Backup Louis
Domingue didn't dress in the final four games because of a
lower-body injury and is day to day. He went 21-5-0 with a 2.88 GAA and .908
save percentage in 26 games. Edward Pasquale would be the backup if Domingue
isn't ready. He allowed 12 goals and won one game in three starts.
Blue Jackets: Bobrovsky went 6-1-0 with a 1.50
GAA, .947 save percentage and three shutouts in seven straight starts from
March 24-April 5. He finished second behind Vasilevskiy in wins with 37,
including an NHL high nine shutouts, and had a 2.58 GAA and .913 save
percentage. Bobrovsky has had his problems in the playoffs, going 5-14 with a
3.49 GAA and .891 save percentage in 24 games (20 starts). Joonas
Korpisalo, Bobrovsky's backup, started 21 games and went 10-7-3.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
Lightning: They finished first on the power play
(28.2 percent) and were tied for second on the penalty kill (85.0 percent) with
the Blue Jackets after finishing 28th on the PK last season (76.1 percent). The
Lightning had a plus-103 goal differential (325-222) including
shootout-deciding goals. They were 39-4-3 in games they scored the first goal
and 23-12-1 when they allowed the first goal. They were the first team with
three 40-goal scorers (Stamkos, Kucherov, Point) since the Penguins in 1995-96
(Lemieux 69, Jagr 62, Petr Nedved 45).
Blue Jackets: They set team records for road
wins (25) and points (52) and had a plus-18 goal differential in road games.
The Blue Jackets were shorthanded 200 times, fewest in the NHL, and allowed the
fewest power-play goals (30). Forward Oliver
Bjorkstrand scored eight goals in his final eight games.
Columbus is 5-16 all-time in the playoffs. The Blue Jackets were outscored by
the Lightning 17-3 in three games this season.
INJURY REPORT
Lightning: Victor Hedman,
who won the Norris Trophy as the top defenseman in the NHL last season, missed
the last four games with an upper-body injury and is considered day to day, but
Cooper said the Lightning were hopeful Hedman, who had 54 points (12 goals, 42
assists) in 70 games, would practice and be available for Game 1.
Blue Jackets: Defenseman Ryan Murray (29
points; one goal, 28 assists) missed the last 24 games with an upper-body
injury. He was placed on injured reserve Feb. 22 and is week to week.
Defenseman Adam McQuaid,
who the Blue Jackets added before the trade deadline, missed the last five
games with an upper-body injury and his status is unclear.
WILL WIN IF …
Lightning: They play their game. This is simple
for the Lightning because they have dominated the NHL by playing fast and
aggressive. They never believe they're out of a game and they shouldn't because
of the firepower they have. Vasilevskiy must be on his game and the special
teams have to stay as strong as they were in the regular season. If the
Lightning don't change, they should win.
Blue Jackets: They make it hard by being stingy
defensively and staying out of the penalty box. They won't defeat the Lightning
in a speed game or by trading chances. They must rely on an aggressive
forecheck, strong wall play, tight gaps and great goaltending. They need their
top-two forward lines to drive the offense, because even if they do all of the
above, they're going to have to score. Shutting down the Lightning for an
entire series likely won't happen.
HOW THEY LOOK
LIGHTNING PROJECTED LINEUP
Ondrej Palat --
Steven Stamkos -- Yanni Gourde
Tyler Johnson --
Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov
Alex Killorn -- Anthony
Cirelli -- Mathieu
Joseph
Adam Erne -- Cedric
Paquette -- J.T. Miller
Victor Hedman -- Anton
Stralman
Ryan McDonagh -- Erik Cernak
Braydon
Coburn -- Mikhail
Sergachev
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Louis Domingue
Scratched: Dan Girardi, Ryan Callahan, Danick Martel,
Cameron Gaunce, Edward Pasquale, Jan Rutta
BLUE JACKETS PROJECTED LINEUP
Artemi Panarin -- Pierre-Luc
Dubois -- Cam Atkinson
Ryan Dzingel -- Matt Duchene -- Josh Anderson
Alexandre Texier -- Nick Foligno -- Oliver Bjorkstrand
Brandon
Dubinsky -- Boone Jenner -- Riley Nash
Zach Werenski -- Seth Jones
Markus
Nutivaara -- David Savard
Dean Kukan -- Scott
Harrington
Sergei Bobrovsky
Joonas Korpisalo
Scratched: Alexander
Wennberg, Markus
Hannikainen, Lukas Sedlak,
Eric Robinson, Adam Clendening, Andrew Peeke, Keith Kinkaid,
Elvis Merzlikins
No comments:
Post a Comment