April 17, 20197 yr Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Game 4. I only got to listen to the 1st period, as I was on my way to a business meeting. But the Bolts sounded hapless. They were getting out played all over the ice. It was really sad. Vassy was horrible in net and the defense didn't help. Phil Esposito normally does color on the radio, only during home games, but the Lightning had their founder in Columbus this week for the playoffs. RTS refers to him as "That Drunk Guy" and he was going off the deep end during this one. I was dying laughing. The Jackets opened the game with 2 goals inside the first 6 minutes of the game and ended it with 3 empty netters as they sweep the winning-est team during the regular season in the first round of the playoffs. An NHL first for the Bolts. :lol2: It's looking like the Matt Duchene trade was the transaction of the year and that Texier kid is amazing. Nice call up at the end of the season.
April 18, 20197 yr With the Kings stinking it up again, I am rooting for Columbus. Glad they finally made it two the 2nd round.
April 18, 20197 yr I keep walking around town and asking random people to pinch me. I'm still getting funny looks. Columbus just kept finding ways to win. Once Tampa Bay tied it at 3, it would've been natural to assume they would find a way to win. The Jackets answered quickly and stole the momentum back. The atmosphere in Nationwide Arena was incredible. Several players and media members say it was deafening. I would've loved to have been a part of that. Per Jackets beat writer Aaron Portzline: Tuesday’s game was the most-watched Blue Jackets game ever aired on Fox Sports Ohio, reaching about 90,000 homes (a 9.83 household rating), the network said. Roughly 120,000 homes watched the final hour of the broadcast. Even the post-game show (5.1 rating) reached more than three times the average viewership of a regular-season game (1.61 rating). The highest-rated game previously was April 21, 2014, vs. Pittsburgh (8.27 rating).
April 19, 20197 yr Per the ESPN trailer the next day: A. First time a President's Cup winner had been swept in the first round of the playoffs. 2. After the second period of game one, Columbus outscored TB 19-5. D. First-ever playoff series win for the Blue Jackets. Tampa Bay is officially - for this year, at any rate - what the Capitals were for years.
April 20, 20197 yr Author Per the ESPN trailer the next day: A. First time a President's Cup winner had been swept in the first round of the playoffs. 2. After the second period of game one, Columbus outscored TB 19-5. D. First-ever playoff series win for the Blue Jackets. Tampa Bay is officially - for this year, at any rate - what the Capitals were for years. Perspective. 33 teams have been awarded the President's Trophy since it was first given out after the the 1985/86 season. Only 11 of those winners have made it to the Stanley Cup Finals and only 8 have won it. That means that being the best team in Hockey, during the regular season, gives you only a 33% chance of making the finals and less than a 25% chance of winning the Cup. The 2005/06 Detroit Red Wings won the Trophy and dominated the Edmonton Oilers in the first game of the playoffs. The Oilers won the next 4 in a row and eliminated the Wings in the first round. Detroit won the Cup 2 years later. For what it's worth, that 05/06 season was Steve Yzerman's last year as a player. He retired following the season, became the Lightning GM in 2010, and built this team. Oddly enough, there were 18 seasons between expansion and the first President's Trophy award. Of the 18 teams that had the best record during the regular season during that time, 11 of those won the Stanley Cup. 3 of the remaining 7 were at least in the finals. I am disappointed, but I'm not as upset as most Lightning fans. I understand what happened is part of hockey and one of the reasons I really like the sport. The playoffs are a different beast. You never know what is going to happen. I love playoff hockey.
April 20, 20197 yr Author Basically, in hockey, you have to build a team that can qualify for the playoffs in the regular season and be able to grind it out in the playoffs. It turns out to be a difficult balance. The Bolts have some cap issues coming and it will be interesting to see what John BriseBois does. Point is coming up for FA, soon and don't be surprised to see Yzerman raid the Tampa Bay locker room.
April 21, 20197 yr Congrats to @Mediocre Nachos! I'll be pulling for the Jackets the rest of the way!
April 21, 20197 yr Basically, in hockey, you have to build a team that can qualify for the playoffs in the regular season and be able to grind it out in the playoffs. It turns out to be a difficult balance. The Bolts have some cap issues coming and it will be interesting to see what John BriseBois does. Point is coming up for FA, soon and don't be surprised to see Yzerman raid the Tampa Bay locker room. In my opinion, the NHL is the toughest team sport to reach the pinnacle.
April 23, 20197 yr I still love the Bolts but my allegiance to the Jackets runs deep. Onward and upward.
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