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Columbus Blue Jackets News Clips April 10-13, 2020 Columbus Blue Jackets PAGE 02 The Columbus Dispatch: Sweep memories | Sergei Bobrovsky’s save, Nick Foligno’s goal ignite Game 1 turnaround PAGE 06 The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets' upset of Lightning will resonate for a long time PAGE 08 The Columbus Dispatch: Sweep memories | Blue Jackets prove Game 1 stunner was no fluke Cleveland Monsters/Prospects NHL/Websites PAGE 11 The Athletic: LeBrun: NHL favours 2019-20 resumption format that includes regular season games PAGE 13 The Athletic: NHL Mock Draft: Beat writers preview the 2020 draft lottery PAGE 18 Sportsnet.ca: Colby Cave's dreams for hockey, life ended far too soon The Columbus Dispatch: Sweep memories | Sergei Bobrovsky’s save, Nick Foligno’s goal ignite Game 1 turnaround By Brian Hedger – April 10, 2020 They flew down after practicing in Columbus. It was two days before the Blue Jackets were to become a sacrificial lamb in last year’s playoffs, and they were met in Tampa, Florida, with a tidal wave of blue and white. The Tampa Bay Lightning’s logo was everywhere, on storefronts, T-shirts, hats and bumper stickers. The chatter about winning the Stanley Cup was incessant and exactly what you’d expect in a town with a record-setting powerhouse like the Lightning. The excitement only intensified as Game 1 approached, and the Blue Jackets couldn’t help but notice. The Lightning’s official Twitter account even turned it up a notch on the day of Game 1, sending a playoff-related tweet to the account for Bud Light, their official beer sponsor. Along with a 10-second video of a blue Bud Light can changing to "Bud Lightning" with the flash of a lightning bolt, the Lightning account asked: "Hey @budlight, how about a name change for the playoffs?" It took four minutes for a reply, which read: "Win it all and we’ll make #BudLightning a reality." A press release followed a few minutes later, sent out by Bud Light’s public-relations team, stating that if the Lightning "win it all," they would rebrand their 16-ounce cans as "Bud Lightning" in Tampa. It was a clever marketing idea but didn’t sit well with the Jackets. "I remember seeing that," said Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson, who’d set a career high with 41 goals last season. "We all saw it. We were just in awe of the stuff that was being said. It was crazy. But it was a great opportunity to shut them up … and sure enough, we did." If Atkinson felt déjà vu, there was a reason. Nine years earlier to the day, April 10, 2010, he’d won an NCAA national championship with Boston College after scoring two goals in the third period against Wisconsin in the title game. Atkinson’s team had several players who had been drafted by NHL teams, but the high-powered Badgers and their 10 NHL draftees were the favorite at that Frozen Four in Detroit. "I remember there was a banquet, a dinner with all four teams, and Wisconsin was picking up the trophy as if they’d already won before the tournament had even started," Atkinson said. "So, we saw that … and that’s probably the closest thing I could relate to (facing the Lightning)." A half second later, he added a tag line: "And we crushed ’em 5-0." Two of those Badgers, coach Mike Eaves and star forward Blake Geoffrion, are now on Atkinson’s side. Geoffrion is a pro scout for the Jackets and Eaves coaches the Cleveland Monsters. "Every time I see him," Atkinson said of Eaves, chuckling, "I have to rub it in his face a little bit." This is the second of The Dispatch’s six-part oral history on the Blue Jackets’ first-round sweep last season, which sent shockwaves through hockey and gave fans in Columbus their first victorious playoff series to celebrate. Today, with sports on pause for the COVID-19 pandemic, we take a look back at Game 1 on its one-year anniversary through the memories of Blue Jackets players, management, coach John Tortorella and others. What about Bob? In three matchups during the regular season, the Lightning obliterated the Blue Jackets. They won by scores of 8-2 and 4-0 at Amalie Arena, and then swept the season series with a 5-1 rout in Columbus. Each was a new nightmare for the Jackets, including the second meeting in Tampa. Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who’d allowed all 12 goals in the first two games, exited straight to the showers after being pulled in the third period. He was suspended a game for it, but three months later "Bob" was one of the Jackets’ biggest keys and question marks in a playoff matchup against the Lightning. His spotty playoff history was also in the spotlight, and the first period against the Lightning did nothing to improve his standing. Alex Killorn, Anthony Cirelli and Yanni Gourde scored three unanswered goals for a 3-0 lead, and Tampa Bay could’ve led 5-0 had it not been for an early save by Bobrovsky off a turnover and defenseman Markus Nutivaara’s quick stick poking a loose rebound out of the crease with 5:24 left. Tortorella: "When it’s 3-0, everybody’s thinking just what they were talking about, some of the questions they asked me prior to the series." Riley Nash: "It really was kind of how the regular season went against them. It felt like we played some pretty good minutes. We just had nothing to show for it." What the Jackets did have was an intermission. As they regrouped in the locker room, silence filled the team’s executive suite occupied by general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, vice president of hockey operations Bill Zito, former president of hockey operations John Davidson and several others. What was it like in there? Davidson: "aasn’t good. That was a stomach-turner." Zito: "You’re down 3-0 quick, but I don’t think anyone was really emotional or angry. No one was real happy, though. I can tell you that." Elsewhere, a big question loomed as TV cameras turned their focus to the tunnel behind the Jackets’ bench. Would Tortorella consider a goalie change just one period into the series? Tortorella: "Absolutely not. I remember people asking and there wasn’t a thought in my mind, as far as pulling Bob. It was Game 1 of a seven-game series. We got some jitters and I think Bob also had some jitters. It’s supposed to happen that way. There wasn’t a chance I was pulling Bob." It didn’t take long for that decision to pay off. Counter-punches The Jackets started the second killing off David Savard’s interference penalty and nearly gave up a fourth goal right away. Ondrej Palat threaded a backhand pass between Seth Jones’ skates from the right corner and created a 2-on-0 in front of Bobrovsky. The two Lightning players? Only Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, who’d combined for 86 goals between them last season. Stamkos slid a rolling puck over to Kucherov for a one-timer from close range, but Bobrovsky sprawled in a flash and stopped it with his left pad. Jones: "Before I could even turn around, I knew it was going to be a scoring chance, because the puck was going in the direction where Stamkos usually sets up. And then, I kind of saw the 2-on-0 … obviously, that was a hell of a save from ‘Bob.’" It flipped everything around, for Bobrovsky and the Blue Jackets. Kucherov also rung a one-timer off the right post less than a minute later, but "Bob’s save" stood tallest. Nick Foligno: "I just remember the save. It’s funny how everything blurs together. I was on the ice, and at the time you’re just like, ‘Holy (bleep)!’ Then you’re like, ‘OK, just get this puck out of here.’ You don’t have time to think about anything, but in that moment ... if they score there, it’s probably a whole different story. That was a big turning point for us." Kekalainen: "It just settled him. He got confidence or whatever it was. It just changed him and he was great the rest of the series." Zito: "I mean, we needed something. Sometimes it’s a hit, sometimes it’s a fight. That was a big thing." It was also the beginning of a memorable comeback. As Bobrovsky slipped back into regular-season form, the Jackets’ new "stay above the puck" approach bogged down the Lightning. The game changed with every shift, and Foligno landed another stiff jab nine minutes later. Josh Anderson broke up a pass in the Jackets’ zone, the puck caromed off the boards to the Columbus captain and his breakaway goal cut it to 3-1. The building quieted instantly. Atkinson: "You could feel the momentum change. I would love to see what some of the reporters were writing at the end of the first period. I can only imagine." (Writer’s note: It wasn’t great) Foligno: "I was late coming back in the play and I don’t remember why, but that whole time I went down the ice I just said, ‘I’m going to rip this as hard as I can to the low blocker.’ That’s kind of my shot." Zito: "That wave of confidence … you could touch it. You could just feel the tension, one way and the other.

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