The NHL regular season has come to an end. Just like many seasons before, it has had ups, downs, and everything in between. 15 teams do not get the honor of playing for the Stanley Cup this spring and have all been entered into the draft lottery. The 16 teams that did make the playoffs are in for a competitive April.

Looking up and down the playoffs brackets this year, I can draw one main conclusion: there is no easy round 1 for any team. Even the Tampa Bay Lightning have drawn a formidable first round opponent in the Columbus Blue Jackets. I guarantee that the Lightning would’ve much rather played Montreal or Carolina in round 1. The Blue Jackets have had a roller coaster of a season with plenty of highs and lows; but after their GM went all in at the trade deadline, the team does have potential for a first round upset over the NHL’s best team in 20+ years. Do I think it will happen? No. But there is potential. Sergei Bobrovsky is a two-time Vezina Trophy winner for goalie of the year. If CBJ wants a chance, he’ll have to steal at least 2 or 3 wins from Tampa. CBJ also has plenty of upside on offense including Artemi Panarin (future Ranger), Pierre-Luc Dubois, Matt Duchene, and a few others. The issue with Columbus is speed. Not that they’re lacking in the speed department, but playing speed vs speed with Tampa Bay will not end well. The Bolts are the fastest team in the league by a mile and trying to “out-speed” them will make you look foolish. Bolts in 5 is my guess, with Bob stealing a game on home ice for CBJ. I know I said it’s not an easy road for any team, and that’s still true. Although I have the Lightning winning in 5, this won’t be a tune-up series for them. They’ll have to stay sharp if they wanna do away with Columbus early.

The Lightning have their eyes on the Stanley Cup this season and have every reason to win it. If they’re not on top of their shit for game 1 vs Columbus to the final buzzer, they could be looking at a much longer route to the SCF than they’d hoped.

Written By: Andrew Silvers

Twitter: @asilvers55

Instagram: @asilvers55