When the 2018-19 NHL playoffs started there were few thoughts of the eighth seed teams dominating. Yet, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Colorado Avalanche are doing exactly that. These upsets could provide a big boost to future wild card teams that look to go far.
NHL Eighth Seed Teams Dominating
Tampa Bay Lightning Fell First
After watching Tampa’s President-Trophy-winning season, it was hard to imagine they would do much less than winning the Stanley Cup this year. They tied the league record for wins in a season as they set a record of 62-16-4. This amazing record came on the back of Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, and Brayden Point; who all scored over 90 points this season. With so much momentum heading into the playoffs, going up against the eighth-seed Blue Jackets seemed to be a guaranteed win for Tampa.
However, the Jackets clearly had other plans. The team’s stars of Artemi Panarin, Cam Atkinson, and Matt Duchene tore through a struggling Tampa team. The trio combined for 16 points, seven coming from Duchene. The offensive explosion that Columbus demonstrated was enough to emphatically sweep Tampa.
The Blue Jackets showed no remorse as they blew by the less-than-impressive Lightning. To emphasize how things turned from bad to worse it didn’t help that the league’s highest scorer Kucherov was assessed a one-game suspension for an over-aggressive hit in Game 2. It may have been writing on the wall for the Tampa Bay club as they went on to lose all four games to a lesser Columbus team.
No Remorse
The Blue Jackets showed no remorse as they blew by the less-than-impressive Lightning. Tampa rapidly degraded in every aspect, looking much different than they did during the regular season.
Top defensemen Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman sat out in both Game 3 and Game 4 due to injuries. This is after a rough first two games. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy wasn’t able to get ahold of anything, recording an abysmal .856 save percentage and 3.82 goals-against average during the playoffs. These are just a few examples of how the Jackets were able to tear apart a star-studded Tampa Bay lineup, on pace to one of the biggest upsets in NHL history.
The Calgary Flames Also Failed to Advance
After a Game 1 shutout by veteran goalie Mike Smith, the Flames thought they were on the road to going to the next round without much resistance. But, the surging Avalanche started winning like their namesake and finished off the best Western Conference team in five games. They even made it look easy.
Again, NHL eighth seed teams causing trouble and defeating the number-one seed. Mike Smith played hard but it wasn’t enough. Smith surrendered 17 goals in the four games following his shutout. However, he was also peppered in shots every one of those games. You could say the Flames burned out and were nothing but a flicker by Game 5.
Teams Who Just Missed the Playoffs Are Feeling Hopeful
When teams like the Arizona Coyotes and Montreal Canadiens look forward to next season, they may be more motivated than normal seeing that even the final wildcard team can advance with some late-season rallying.
The fact that the team winning their conference will be more alert to being upset going forward is an understatement at this point. The eighth seed just received more respect also as they no longer will be looked like the team who will just roll over for the all-powerful top-seeded team.
The Coyotes missed the playoffs by just four points by not winning all important games near the end of the season. The Avalanche got hot at the perfect time and peaked at the most strategic point in the season.
The Canadiens missed the postseason by a mere two points and everyone may enjoy projecting how a series would have gone if the Montreal team made it instead of Columbus.
Would the Canadiens have been able to get past the powerful Tampa Bay club? Or could the Coyotes have outdueled the Flames? We will never know but one thing is certain. If a team has a chance to get that last spot into the playoffs they will remember this past season as a template to use for their motivation to finish strongly.
For those of us who favour the underdog, the Avalanche and Blue Jackets advancement have us all entertained. The next round for both teams may not go as easily but then again who thought they’d even be in this position?
It’s the NHL. It can’t get much better than this.
