#CBJ20 Year in Review: 2018-19

Some had waited nearly two decades for it. Others had probably picked up the team over a recent run of success. A few others maybe didn't even start paying attention until it was happening.
But when the cannon blasted and Blue Jackets players streamed onto the ice in front of a roaring Nationwide Arena on April 16, 2019, no matter how long one had been a CBJ fan, that moment is certainly seared into their memory.

For the first time ever, Columbus had won a Stanley Cup Playoffs series. Not only that, the Blue Jackets had done it in stunning fashion, sweeping a Tampa Bay team that had been huge favorites to win the Cup after tying an NHL record with 62 regular-season wins.
It was a script that could hardly be believed, from the Blue Jackets overturning a 3-0 deficit in Game 1 to earn a 4-3 win, to a dominating 5-1 victory in Game 2, to a tight 3-1 triumph in Game 3, to finally a 7-3 victory in Game 4 punctuated by three empty-net goals that each sent the downtown building into a frenzy.
It looked for a while like the magic would continue for a team that had stunned the NHL world and gone all-in at the trade deadline, trading a bevy of prospects and draft picks for forwards Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel as well as defenseman Adam McQuaid and goalie Keith Kinkaid. Columbus took a 2-1 lead in an Eastern Conference semifinal vs. Boston thanks to a double-OT winner by Duchene in Game 2 and a home win in Game 3, but the experienced Bruins went on to win three straight to capture the entertaining and tight series.
Thus concluded the most successful season in CBJ history, but it certainly wasn't the easiest. The year began under the specter of change, as record-setting forward Artemi Panarin and franchise goalie Sergei Bobrovsky entered the campaign in the final year of their contracts. It was a cloud that often threatened to serve as a distraction, especially as the trade deadline neared and the Blue Jackets in contention.
Instead of moving the pair of free-agency bound standouts, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen went big, trading a first-round pick, a pair of second-round choices, prospects Vitali Abramov and Jonathan Davidsson and other draft choices to bolster the roster down the stretch.
Oddly, it didn't work at first, as a 4-6-1 stretch to start March put the team's playoff hopes on life support. But Columbus responded to win seven of its last eight games to finish 47-31-8 and with 98 points, representing the second-most wins and points in team history.
There were a number of accomplishments and historic moments along the way as well. Cam Atkinson scored in seven straight games from Nov. 10-24, tying Geoff Sanderson's franchise record. John Tortorella became the 19th head coach in NHL history to win 600 games when the Blue Jackets captured their Jan. 10 game vs. Nashville. And New Albany native Kole Sherwood made his debut Feb. 16 in Chicago, making him the first-ever player born and raised in the central Ohio area to play for the team.
In the end, Atkinson finished with 41 goals -- tying Rick Nash's franchise record for goals in a season -- and 69 points on the way to earning his second All-Star bid. Panarin again led the team in scoring, breaking his own franchise records with totals of 59 assists and 87 points to go with his 28 goals. At age 20, Pierre-Luc Dubois lived up to his billing as a top-three pick, posting a 27-34-61 season to place third on the team in scoring.
Josh Anderson added 27 goals and 47 points, while Oliver Bjorkstrand set a career high with 23 goals as well. Seth Jones had a 9-37-46 line on the way to an All-Star nod, while fellow blueliner Zach Werenski notched 11 goals and 44 points.
And in net, Bobrovsky again stood out, going 37-24-1 with a 2.58 goals-against average and .913 save percentage as well as nine shutouts. He was also impressive in the playoffs, making a series-turning save in Game 1 vs. Tampa Bay and finishing with a 2.41/.925 mark in the postseason.
But in many ways, the most historic season in franchise history also served as the turning of a page. It started shortly after the conclusion of the campaign when president of hockey operations John Davidson left the team to join the New York Rangers, taking a 285-209-46 record and four playoff berths with him after being hired in 2012 to rebuild the franchise. And with a summer of free agency on the way, more changes figured to loom on the horizon.