Nuts and Bolts: Lightning host Blue Jackets in Game 1

After wrapping up a record-setting regular season last Saturday, the Lightning begin the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Wednesday night vs. Columbus.
Tampa Bay concluded the regular season with wins in three of their final four games. The Blue Jackets also open the playoffs on a run of good form, collecting victories in seven of their final eight games to jump Montreal for the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Lines from Tuesday's practice. Subject to change.
Forwards
Ondrej Palat - Steven Stamkos - Tyler Johnson
Yanni Gourde - Brayden Point - Nikita Kucherov
Alex Killorn - Anthony Cirelli - J.T. Miller
Adam Erne - Cedric Paquette - Mathieu Joseph
Defensemen
Victor Hedman - Dan Girardi
Ryan McDonagh - Erik Cernak
Mikhail Sergachev - Jan Rutta
Braydon Coburn - Cameron Gaunce
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Louis Domingue
Wednesday's Matchup
The Lightning open the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Columbus Blue Jackets in a best-of-seven, First Round series...Tampa Bay and Columbus have never met in the postseason...The Lightning swept Columbus in the regular season, winning all three games by a combined 17-3...The Bolts earned an 8-2 victory over the Blue Jackets in Tampa on Oct. 13 paced by Brayden Point's two goals...The Lightning matched season highs for goals, power-play goals (4) and goals in a period (4 in the 3rd period) in that win...Tampa Bay shutout Columbus 4-0 at AMALIE Arena Jan. 8, Andrei Vasilevskiy stopping all 31 shots he faced for his 14th career shutout and Brayden Point scoring a pair of goals...The Lightning completed the regular season sweep with a 5-1 win in Columbus Feb. 18, Nikita Kucherov recording five points (2 goals, 3 assists) and Brayden Point netting two goals in the win...Tampa Bay has swept the season series from Columbus the last two seasons and has won six in a row over the Blue Jackets...The Bolts are 11-4-0 overall against Columbus since the start of the 2014-15 season...Brayden Point has multiple points in four-straight games against CBJ (6-5--11) and is on a five-game point streak vs. the Blue Jackets (7-5--12)...Nikita Kucherov has tallied multiple points in five-straight games in five-straight games against CBJ (6-7--13) and is on a six-game point streak vs. the Blue Jackets (6-8--14)...Andrei Vasilevskiy has notched a shutout in three of his last six starts vs. CBJ and has more regular season shutouts against the Blue Jackets than he does against any other NHL team...Tyler Johnson has recorded 2-4--6 in his last 4 games vs. CBJ.
Wednesday's Storylines
The Lightning qualified for the playoffs for the fifth time in the last six seasons and the 11th time overall in franchise history...Tampa Bay is just 3-7 in playoff openers but has won its last two in a row...The Lightning are 9-14 all-time in Game 1s...The Bolts are opening a playoff series on home ice for the 14th time in franchise history (out of 24 overall series)...Tampa Bay owns an all-time playoff record of 73-60, including a 36-31 record at home and a 35-29 record at AMALIE Arena...The Lightning are 36-27 in the postseason under head coach Jon Cooper.
Injuries
2018-19 Regular Season Man Games Lost: 119
2018-19 Playoff Man Games Lost: 0
Current injuries
Victor Hedman (Upper Body; Day-to-Day) 4 Games
Anton Stralman (Lower Body; Day-to-Day) 1 Game
2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs Party
The 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs are here and we are kicking off the excitement with a FREE live concert and Watch Party featuring Cage the Elephant at Curtis Hixon Park! The event will feature drink specials, food trucks, Lightning alumni, games, giveaways and more! Stick around post-concert and watch the Bolts host the Blue Jackets in Game 1.
Parking Info
As our partners at Water Street Tampa continue to develop the 60 contiguous acres in the neighborhood surrounding AMALIE Arena, we ask for your patience and consideration when planning your visit to cheer on the Lightning or enjoy a concert, event or family show. We are pleased to report that the development project is well underway with a hotel and USF Health's Morsani College of Medicine in the midst of construction while we expect to see groundbreakings on several other projects during the 2018-19 season. Roadways are being realigned, traffic patterns are changing and new transportation options are emerging - all with a vision of creating a more user-friendly environment in the blocks surrounding AMALIE Arena.
As you plan your trip downtown, we aim to keep you informed of these new developments, offering you all you need to know about arriving at AMALIE safe and on time for your game or event.
Visit
TampaBayLightning.com/parking
for more information.
Tampa Bay Sports Item of the Game
Round 1 Match Up T-Shirt
Gear up for the Lightning's First Round series vs. the Blue Jackets with this match up t-shirt. Available exclusively in store and at TampaBaySports.com.
The Road Ahead
Game 2 vs. Columbus Blue Jackets - Friday, April 12
Game 3 at Columbus Blue Jackets - Sunday, April 14
Game 4 at Columbus Blue Jackets - Turesday, April 16
Game 5 vs. Columbus Blue Jackets - Friday, April 19*
Game 6 at Columbus Blue Jackets - Sunday, April 21*
Game 7 vs. Columbus Blue Jackets - Tuesday, April 23\
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