Blue Jackets made a statement with Game 1 win over Tampa Bay

With Fox Sports Ohio broadcasting the Blue Jackets' first-round sweep of the Tampa Bay Lighting in last year's Stanley Cup Playoffs - Game 1 will be shown tonight at 8 p.m. -- BlueJackets.com is taking a look back at each game of the series. Each story will include a recap of the game, Jackets Insider Jeff Svoboda's take on what it meant, and fans' memories from the contest.

Can you believe what you just saw?

Perhaps the most defining game in Blue Jackets history was Game 1 vs. Tampa Bay a season ago. Sure, Columbus had made playoff appearances before, won huge games, but what happened in sunny Florida in the opening game of that series against the "unbeatable" Lightning was a turning point.

Before the game, head coach John Tortorella implored his team to stand in and face the overwhelming favorites toe-to-toe.

"It's a mind-set of believing," Tortorella said, with some more colorful language interspersed. "It's amazing what can happen. So you stand in there and you don't take a backward step."

The Blue Jackets did just that. After falling into an early 3-0 hole, Columbus methodically marched its way back and claimed the opening game by a 4-3 score to stun the Bolts.

How it happened:Twenty minutes into the game, it didn't look good.

And it felt even worse.

In the first period of Game 1, Tampa Bay exploded for three goals to take a 3-0 lead into the locker room, and the Bolts' big guns hadn't even gotten started.

First, Alex Killorn took advantage of a turnover to score a shorthanded goal past Sergei Bobrovsky just 4:12 into the game. Another defensive zone giveaway by the Blue Jackets went into the net minutes later, as Anthon Cirelli jumped on a rebound and put it past Bobrovsky. And late in the period, it was 3-0, as a flubbed clearing attempt ended up on the stick of Mikhail Sergachev and Yanni Gourde tipped his shot home.

Simply put, it was not the start the team wanted.

And then, slowly but surely, it flipped. First, Bobrovsky made a huge save on the penalty kill, denying Hart Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov on a 2-on-0 feed from Steven Stamkos. Then Josh Anderson broke up a pass and sprung Nick Foligno on a breakaway, with the captain firing past Andrei Vasilevskiy at 9:15 of the third.

Then, in the third, the dam broke. David Savard started it, rushing into the zone with speed, juking past one of the best defensemen in the game in Victor Hedman and beating Vasilevskiy with a wrister to make it a 3-2 game with 12 minutes to go.

"I was just trying to hit the net," Savard said afterward. "It's a weird angle and everything happened so quick. I wasn't thinking too much, I was just trying to hit the net and obviously it went in, so it was good."

A high-sticking double minor on Brandon Dubinsky a few minutes later threatened to stymie the CBJ momentum, but instead the Blue Jackets took advantage. Anderson rushed into the zone with speed, cut across the slot and slipped a shot past Vasilevskiy to tie the game shorthanded.

Another special teams goal broke that deadlock. With Killorn in the box for high sticking, Artemi Panarin set up Jones for a shot past Vasilevskiy with 5:55 to go to give Columbus its first lead of the series.

From there, Columbus shepherded the game home, stunning the Lightning. But as one might expect, the Blue Jackets players and coaches did their best not to get ahead of themselves after taking the 1-0 series lead.

"As we continue in the series, you need to have a short-term memory - the players, the team, the coaches have to have a short-term memory," Tortorella said. "Just get back out and play because there are so many ebbs and flows in playoff hockey."

"It's a good one for us," Jones said for the win. "We're happy with it. I think we have a lot of areas to improve on, playing a complete 60-minute game, but we'll take the win and get prepared again tomorrow, rest up and get ready for (Game 2)."

BACK IN TIME (stories from during the playoff run): Jackets played for each other during sweep | Columbus brushed aside adversity, too | Facts, figures from CBJ sweep | Fans dressed for success | CBJ wanted more after series| It was time to believe

Jeff's take: Well, how about that?

To say it was an unbelievable turn of events would sell the Blue Jackets a bit short -- this was a Columbus team that won 47 games in the regular season, that improved at the trade deadline and had the horses to make a playoff run -- but it certainly felt implausible the way it all developed.

Tampa Bay was pegged as a nearly unbeatable foe thanks to its record-setting regular season, and it looked like that for 20 minutes. In fact, it looked like it would be too easy for the Bolts -- and perhaps that was the problem.

The turn of events left the Lightning looking shell-shocked, as though they couldn't believe what had transpired. And it all turned on a series of plays that changed momentum bit by bit until it was a tidal wave that overcame the Bolts.

Tortorella would often point to Bobrovsky's point-blank save on Kucherov as the turning point, but you could look at some many others. There was Anderson's little tip on a pass that set Foligno down the ice on the breakaway for the first goal, as the captain knew he had to score in that situation and did just that.

There were some other big saves by Bobrovsky down the stretch of the second period that often get forgotten but set up the third-period deluge. Savard's goal seemed to ignite the Blue Jackets from there, given just how good a goal it was and who it came from. Boone Jenner set Anderson forward for the shorthanded goal past a suddenly shaky Vasilevskiy that tied the game, and Panarin made a perfect pass to Jones for the game winner.

As the players said after the game, one win would not a series make. But the Blue Jackets certainly made a statement in Game 1.

The fans say

On Twitter, I asked Blue Jackets fans their memories from the Tampa series, with more than 70 emailing me. Their memories of Game 1 -- some of which have been edited for clarity and grammar -- follow, with more to be released throughout the week as we get together to watch each game.

Kayla Arens

Last year during the sweep I was in the middle of (high school) lacrosse season. I happened to have a game the night of the first game of the series. I was joking around with my teammate who was also a hockey fan about how the Blue Jackets were going to be demolished by Tampa. Before we left our locker room, I checked my phone to see that the first period had just ended and the score was 3-0 in favor of Tampa. We ended up winning our game and I wasn't able to check my phone for about an hour and a half. When I got in the after the game and turned in the radio, it was just in time to hear Josh Anderson's tying goal. I couldn't believe my ears. I was on the edge of my seat for the rest of the drive home and I got to listen to Seth Jones' goal on the radio as well as I pulled into my driveway. I rushed inside in order to watch the replay of the goal on the TV where my sister was watching.

Kenny Brown

Every playoffs we go to the Grandview Theater and Draft House for the games they play on the big screen. I was there through two periods of nervous energy just hoping we could hang close. I have to leave to go to my softball game in Dublin, which I would have skipped had the game been close.

I start the third period at the watch party hoping there is a push, doesn't look likely, I head to the game. Before I get to the car, I get texts saying Savard scored. I turn the game on the Fox Sports Go app, however it is still delayed, I am now getting texts we tied it before I see it on my phone. I continue watching once again, I get hundreds of texts saying we scored again! I finally see it on the app.

Finally I get to Dublin as the game ends, everyone tells me to never come back to the Draft House.

The rest is history.

Hayden Harrison

I was in my dorm room by myself, with all the lights off as the game streamed from my laptop to the TV. I watched up until Tampa scored that third goal then I turned off my TV and sat in silence for a solid 10 minutes. I turned the TV back on and continued to watch the game. When we scored the first (unanswered) goal it was such a weight lifted off my shoulders and I started to run around my room. After the second (unanswered) goal I yelled so loud my roommates in the next room came over to make sure I was OK. The third (unanswered) goal, I took off down my dorm hallway just to run because I was freaking out that game just tied up. After Jonesy's shot to put us ahead I sat in awe and did not move or make a sound till the game was over. When we finally won, I started sending videos to everyone I knew because I couldn't believe what just happened.

Matthew Schiller

I've lived in the New York metro area for a couple years, and I went downtown to catch Game 1 with a buddy of mine and have some beers and a burger. Like a lot of fans, I was hopeful, but I knew how good Tampa was. And given the fact we had gone all in with the Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel trades, I was worried for the future. I was prepared to watch them make it hard for Tampa, and ultimately fall in 5-6 games, then plow into the offseason with a whole bunch of question marks.

By the time my food came around, the Bolts had already scored once on a breakaway, and by the time I had finished my burger, I watched Gourde tip one home to make it 3-0. I had a bad feeling this would happen, and I was livid. They weren't gonna make it out of the first round ... again. I was gonna watch a first-round implosion ... again.

I told my friends I was done, and I left the bar. I had quit on them that fast.

You know what happened next. By the time I got home to Brooklyn, it was 3-3, and I turned the game on right as Jones took the lead. I screamed like a child. My friends both texted me just three dots, just waiting for me to say something. I had nothing to say. I was a bad fan that night, and I knew it. I learned the lesson that series: Never EVER walk out on a hockey game.

Kent Conklin

After we got lit up initially, I started the process of putting my daughter to bed and stopped watching. I'll never forget getting the alert that we scored while in her bedroom. I then hurried up the going to bed process and excused myself to come downstairs and watch the rest of the game. When time expired to end the game I was yelling, cheering and jumping up and down. I woke up both daughters and my wife. Good memories!

Zach Paquette

For me personally, I was in the middle of my first year at Ohio University in Athens, so I was unable to watch the games with my dad or sister who were watching the games in our Gahanna home. Game 1 took place on my 19th birthday. I made sure I was in front of my TV in my dorm room around game time because this game meant more to me than my own birthday. I repped my Zach Werenski jersey to class earlier that day and still had it on during the game. Well, at least the first part. After we fell into the 3-0 hole in the first period, I took the jersey off and hung it up in my closet and just thought to myself, "Well this is going as expected." Nick Foligno scores. "OK, at least we got one." 3-2 game with plenty of time left. I let out a small cheer and start getting a sense of believing. Anderson ties it up four or so minutes later and I let out a huge cheer. I didn't care about the other people on my floor at that point. Jones hit that game winner and another huge cheer and I was stunned in what we just accomplished. The optimism remained as flashbacks of the 2018 Caps series still loomed in the back of my mind.

Back to the birthday note for a second. A lot of my friends came and visited me during the game just to say happy birthday and what not, but my eyes remained glued to my tv during that game. I'm pretty sure they were understanding about it. Good birthday present from the CBJ.

Jim Russell

Game 1 was bowling league night for me, so I had to watch the game while bowling. We watched them go down quickly 3-0 and our league ended in the second period sometime after the Foligno goal. My 35-minute drive home consisted of listening to Bob McElligott call the Savard, Anderson and Jones goals and just being in stunned disbelief. I called my bowling teammates and we were all just sitting in our driveways at our respective houses listening to the game because we were afraid to leave our cars and jinx it.

Katie McEnery

It was Game 1 and I was at Irish dance class so I couldn't, so during water breaks I watched it in the lobby. I saw us go down 3-0 by the end of the first period and decided it wasn't worth my trouble to waste dance time to watch the second period. Then dance ended and my friend and I rode home together 30 minutes, and we turned the game on again. We watched us tie the game up and we were going absolutely wild in the backseat screaming and jumping around and my mom thought we were crazy. Then my friend got dropped off at home and seconds later we took the lead and she texted me in all caps screaming. We were so excited that game. It was a blast.

Willie Lutz

Going into Game 1, I honestly wasn't feeling a whole lot of faith and my ex-girlfriend really wanted to see a movie (she's not much of a hockey fan), so I figured if I had to miss a game, the first wouldn't be the worst.

About halfway through the movie, I walked out to go to the bathroom and check the Jackets score, down 3-0 after the first; just great. So, I went back into the theater and felt even better making my decision. Flash forward to roughly an hour later and as we walk out of the Gateway Film Center, I see Seth Jones knock home the go-ahead goal on the patio TVs of District Pour House! We watched the rest of the game from there and I found the whole thing hysterical! I didn't miss another minute of that playoff run.

Kalen Knight

My greatest memory is being with a buddy of mine whom I got into hockey. We had cold beer and snacks lined up for game 1. After the first period it looked very bleak for us, so we decided to just kill the drinks. We thought, if we are gonna lose by 3-plus, we might as well try to forget the whole game. Then we started scoring and came back. We have never been more excited watching a hockey game than that game. We were jumping and screaming so loud one of his roommates came over because she was scared of what we were doing. We eventually roped her into watching the third period with us. Might've been one of my favorite games I've watched on TV.

Doug Ratcliff

Game 1, we go down 3-0 in the first period and my son, who now resides in New Orleans, is angry texting me. "I can't believe we're playing this poorly," "We're going to get swept," and some more colorful language. My response to him was, "I understand that you're upset but it was one period. We might lose this game, but the series isn't over." Well, you know what happened.

Adam Bidwell

I went to the Grandview theater with my wife and her friend for the Jackets Backers watch party. After the first, I turned to my wife and said, "If Tampa scores again, you want to just head home and get to bed on time?" We're both teachers so sleep is kind of a big deal for us. Andy scored the game-tying SHG and the place erupted and I'm there standing with my hands on my head unable to actually speak or even cheer, just mouth agape. Then Jones scored the GWG and I cried.

Bryan Raynor

My 14-year-old son and I were sitting on the couch. If memory serves me right, we went down 3-0 pretty quickly. I announced to my son that I was going to walk the dog and that the CBJ was likely going to lose the series. I came back to find it tied up (I think). My son was still on the couch. We watched the remaining season together in its entirety.

Joseph Ferraro

After falling behind 3-0 in Game 1, I was deflated. I was at work and told a guy we had them where we wanted them. When he told me the final I let out a big yell right on line.