#CBJ20 Year in Review: 2019-20

As part of the team's 20th anniversary celebration, BlueJackets.com is publishing recaps of each of the team's previous 19 seasons, presented by Nationwide and OhioHealth. Today, the series ends today with a look at the 2018-19 campaign, the franchise's 19th season in Columbus.
It was a Blue Jackets season unlike any other, wrapping inside of an NHL season the likes of which we've never seen before.
Yes, a lot happened for the Columbus hockey team in 2019-20, but that was nothing compared to the coronavirus pandemic that engulfed the world and led to an unprecedented four-month pause in the NHL schedule.

When things resumed in August, months after the season would usually be over, the regular season had been shortened to 70 games and 24 teams battled in two walled-off hub cities for the right to hoist the Stanley Cup. In the midst of an intense battle for a playoff spot when the pause hit, Columbus was one of those 24 teams and took part in the league's postseason tournament for the fourth straight year, winning a 3-2 qualifying series vs. Toronto before a 4-1 loss to eventual Cup champion Tampa Bay in a
rematch from 2018-19's historic CBJ series win
.
The series win over Toronto featured plenty of drama, as Columbus overturned a 3-0 deficit in Game 3 to win in overtime only to watch the highly skilled Maple Leafs do the same in Game 4. But behind a shutout form goalie Joonas Korpisalo, the Blue Jackets captured the deciding Game 5 to move on to the final 16.
That set up one of the most memorable games in NHL history. The first game of the series between the Blue Jackets and Lightning was highly anticipated given Columbus' sweep the year prior, and it didn't disappoint. A Lightning goal in the third tied the score at 2, and the teams went to overtime -- which turned from one overtime into two, two into three, three into four and finally four into five.
Finally, Brayden Point's goal past Korpisalo at 10:27 of the fifth OT gave Tampa Bay a 3-2 victory in the fourth-longest game in NHL history. Two Blue Jackets set notable NHL records, as Korpisalo's 85 saves shattered the previous NHL modern-era mark, while Seth Jones' 65:06 also set a league record since time on ice had been tracked.
Columbus somehow responded with a Game 2 win, but Tampa Bay followed with victories in Games 3 and 4 then rallied to capture Game 5 in overtime, giving the Bolts a 4-1 series victory. Still, it was a tremendous postseason for Korpisalo, whose .941 save percentage would lead all NHL goalies in the playoffs.
That Columbus even got that far was a testament to a team that battled harder and jelled more impressive than perhaps that came before it. The Blue Jackets entered the season projected to miss the playoffs after longtime goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, leading scorer Artemi Panarin and trade deadline acquisitions Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel all left in free agency. In response, the team added forward Gus Nyquist in free agency, brought over prospects Alexandre Texier, Emil Bemstrom and Vladislav Gavrikov from Europe/Russia, and turned to Korpisalo and Latvian goalie Elvis Merzlikins to man the net.
The results weren't there through an 11-14-4 start, but Columbus replied with a 19-2-5 run that reignited playoff hopes. By the time of the NHL pause, the Blue Jackets were 33-22-15, good for 70 points and a tie for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
To get there, the team not only had to overcome the offseason losses, it had to deal with an injury breakout unlike just about any other in team history. After a relatively healthy first two months, Columbus was besieged by injuries, many of them to top players. The team played at least one game with 10 regulars out of the lineup, and the 419 man-games lost to injury by the end of the campaign were the second-most in franchise history and most in the NHL during the season.
In all, 26 players played more than 25 games even despite the shortened regular season. Pierre-Luc Dubois led the way with an 11-38-49 line while being just one of three players to suit up in every game, while Nyquist proved to be a solid acquisition with 15 goals among his 42 points. Zach Werenski led all NHL defensemen in goal scoring and set a CBJ blueliner record with 20 tallies among his 41 points, while Oliver Bjorkstrand led the team with 21 goals among his 36 points.
In net, Korpisalo and Merzlikins split time thanks to injuries, and both impressed as the team finished third in the league in goals against. Korpisalo posted a 19-12-5 record with a 2.60 goals-against average and .911 save percentage in a career-high 37 games. Meanwhile, Merzlikins was 13-9-8 with a 2.35 GAA and .923 save percentage in his first NHL season while finishing fifth in the Vezina and Calder trophy standings.