Tuesday night, two improbable series sweeps were completed in the east. Believe it or not, there were two other very important games played on the docket, so lets check out how they went down.
Columbus Blue Jackets 7, Tampa Bay Lightning 3
Columbus wins series 4-0
- During the regular season, Tampa Bay outscored Columbus 17-3. Columbus outscored Tampa Bay 19-8 in the playoffs.
- The Lightning have become the first team in NHL history to get swept in the first round of the playoffs after having won the Presidents’ Trophy.
- This is the first playoff series win in Columbus franchise history.
New York Islanders 3, Pittsburgh Penguins 1
New York wins series 4-0
- The Penguins led for a total of 4 minutes and 51 seconds in this series. They had their goalie pulled longer than they held a lead all series.
- Robin Lehner finished the series with a 1.40 goals against average and a 95.7-percent save percentage. That is going to be an issue for whoever wins the Caps/Canes series.
- Lehner became the 13th goaltender in NHL history to win each of his first four postseason starts and the first since Michael Leighton did so with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010.
Winnipeg Jets 2, St Louis Blues 1
Series tied 2-2
- This was the first playoff overtime victory in Jets/Thrashers franchise history.
- A series tied at 2-2 in these playoffs? Impossible and hopefully this is the only one.
- Kyle Connor got the overtime winner.
Vegas Golden Knights 5, San Jose Sharks 0
Vegas leads series 3-1
- The Golden Knights are the first team in NHL history to score in the opening 90 seconds of three straight playoff games. Martin Jones is mostly at fault for this.
- Marc-Andre Fleury earned his 78th career postseason win to move into sole possession of seventh place on the NHL’s all-time list.
- Penalty minutes in the third period came out 32 to the Sharks and 0 to the Golden Knights.
Headline photo: CNBC
