The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-4, in overtime of game five to win the series 4-1 and advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Columbus took a 4-2 lead with 10:27 remaining in the third period.
Kevin Shattenkirk then ripped one into the net to cut the deficit to 4-3 with 7:59 left in regulation and that was a confidence changer in the game.
The Lightning were on the attack late and Anthony Cirelli redirected the puck into the net to tie the game 4-4 with 98 seconds left in regulation.
Brayden Point was once again a hero for the Lightning as he scored 5:12 into the overtime on a Columbus turnover to win the game and the series. It was Point’s second overtime goal in the series.
After last years historic sweep by Columbus, Tampa Bay was able to avenge it and got rid of some of the demons after a record setting 2018-19 regular season.
Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper after the game on finally beating Columbus after last season’s 4-game sweep: “We had 422 days to think about it, but who’s counting?”
Cooper went on to talk about the difference in playing Columbus this year compared to last year: “A lot of learning went into last year. We had to grow as a team. And we didn’t necessarily tweak how we played the game. I don’t know if it was as much our structure as it was between the ears.”
Nick Obot 