Well, well, well.
A lot of folks are working backwards to delete their tweets from the first period of Game 1, aren't they? The Blue Jackets got out to quite possibly the worst start imaginable, but thanks to goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and some persistent work by their entire group, were able to chip away at a 3-0 deficit.
You know what happened by now: Seth Jones' go-ahead goal inside six minutes remaining put the Blue Jackets on top for good, and they salted the final minutes away in grand fashion. Just as we all drew it up, the Blue Jackets have a 1-0 series lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Here are three things from an absolutely stunning Game 1 win at Amalie Arena.
- Bobrovsky Stands Tall: Admit it – you were shitting bricks watching Bobrovsky in the opening period. You wouldn't have been wrong, either. He looked shaky. He looked nervous. And he looked out of sorts. The Lightning dented him three times in the first 17-plus minutes and, at the time, it felt like they'd essentially put the game out of reach. But John Tortorella kept Bobrovsky in the game and praised him for keeping his team in the game, allowing them to slowly creep back in. He was one of the stars of this comeback effort.
- David Savard! What a performance from this guy, who never gets the headlines but always seems to put forth a solid effort. Tonight was one of those, but forget what he did defensively because it's not going to matter. The gorgeous toe-drag goal he scored to pull Columbus to 3-2 was the highlight of the night. He turned Victor Hedman inside-out and picked a corner over Andrei Vasilevskiy, scoring an enormous goal to turn hope into belief for the Blue Jackets.
- Believe. The Blue Jackets were in a 3-0 hole but they didn't stop playing. They re-grouped between periods and started to build their game in the second period, and took it to the third period down 3-1. Savard's goal brought them well within striking distance, Josh Anderson's goal was a firecracker, and Jones' game-winner was the final surge ahead. If you don't think you can do it, how can you do it? These guys did.
Game 2 is Friday night back in Tampa, with the same time for puck drop at 7 p.m. ET.
