Columbus Blue Jackets during the
2013–14 season. The Blue Jackets entered the
2018 Stanley Cup playoffs as a wild card qualifier, qualifying in back-to-back years for the first time in franchise history. They faced the
Washington Capitals in the first round, winning the first two games in overtime and their first series lead. However, they lost the next four games and the series in six games. Two-time
Vezina Trophy winner
Sergei Bobrovsky and the team's leading scorer,
Artemi Panarin were in the final year of their contracts before becoming
unrestricted free agents. Blue Jackets GM
Jarmo Kekalainen was an active participant near the trade deadline window of the
2018–19 season, acquiring several players with expiring contracts. On February 22, the Blue Jackets acquired
Matt Duchene in a trade with the
Ottawa Senators. A day later, the Blue Jackets traded again with the Senators, this time acquiring
Ryan Dzingel in exchange for
Anthony Duclair. On February 25, the Blue Jackets acquired
Keith Kinkaid from the
New Jersey Devils in exchange for a fifth round pick in the
2022 NHL entry draft, and later acquired
Adam McQuaid from the
New York Rangers in exchange for
Julius Bergman and fourth and seventh round picks in the
2019 NHL entry draft. Despite these acquisitions, the Blue Jackets initially struggled into March as they faced fierce competition from the
Montreal Canadiens and the
Carolina Hurricanes for the last two Wild Card spots. They won seven of their last eight games and on April 5, 2019, the Blue Jackets clinched the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with a 3–2 shootout win over the
New York Rangers.
Tampa Bay Lightning In the
2018 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Lightning eliminated the
New Jersey Devils in the first round and the
Boston Bruins in the second round, both in five games. However, they were defeated in the Eastern Conference finals by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the
Washington Capitals, in seven games. Prior to the start of the
2018–19 season, it was announced that
Steve Yzerman was resigning from his position as GM, and
Julien BriseBois took his place. The Lightning clinched their first
Presidents' Trophy and second consecutive division title and secured home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. The Lightning finished the regular season with 62 wins, tied with the 1995–96 Detroit Red Wings for most wins in a single season in NHL history (a record since broken by the
2022–23 Boston Bruins). They recorded 128 points in the regular season a total that is behind only the 1995–96 Detroit Red Wings (131) and the
2022–23 Boston Bruins) (135). They were also the highest-scoring team on average (3.89) since the 1995–96 Red Wings and, of their 62 wins, 30 were by a margin of three or more goals, which was tied for the most since 1992–93. Kucherov went on to record his 40th goal of the season on April 5, 2019 and his 126th point, setting the record for most points in an NHL season during the salary cap era, a record formerly held by
Joe Thornton. Kucherov ended the season with 128 points (41 goals and 87 assists), surpassing
Alexander Mogilny for most points in the NHL by a Russian-born player and winning the
Art Ross Trophy. Stamkos and Point also exceeded 40 goals and 90 overall points each by the seasons end. ==Game summaries==