We’ve never seen a meltdown like this. After never losing three straight games during a record setting regular season, the Tampa Bay Lightning were swept out of the playoffs by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night. Tampa Bay has a long offseason to figure out where it all went wrong, but the Lightning weren’t the only team that was swept last night. Let’s get into today’s top stories.
We don’t have any words and we know you don’t want to hear them.
We understand your anger, your frustration, your sadness. Everything you’re feeling – we get it.
This isn’t the ending we imagined, and certainly not the one we wanted. Thank you for being there the entire way.
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) April 17, 2019
There are no easy answers for the Lightning over the summer. Tampa Bay won’t want to change much about a team that won 62 games in the regular season, but there must be a shake-up of some sort. Greg Wyshynski has a good piece on where it all went wrong, and what Tampa Bay can actually fix going forward.
The New York Islanders are moving on after sweeping the Pittsburgh Penguins! pic.twitter.com/zRGCTIekK9
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) April 17, 2019
The Pittsburgh Penguins have won two of the last three Stanley Cups, and they were favored going into their series with the New York Islanders. The Isles had little trouble in sweeping the Penguins out of the playoffs though, conceding just one goal in each of the last three games. Jordan Eberle was sensational in the series, and he and the Isles have some well-deserved time off before the conference semifinals.
The Winnipeg Jets have evened their first-round series at two games apiece.https://t.co/QKt2kW8lfd
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 17, 2019
Home ice continues to be meaningless in Winnipeg’s series with St. Louis. The road team has now won all four games after Kyle Connor’s overtime goal knotted the series at two. Three of the four games in this series have been decided by one goal, and another close game is likely on the docket when the series returns to Winnipeg on Thursday.
San Jose Sharks vs Vegas Golden Knights 🏒 Vegas won 5-0! pic.twitter.com/IyLHEcp853
— Shania Twain 💎💎💎 (@ShaniaTwain) April 17, 2019
Shania Twain was not impressed with San Jose’s performance on Tuesday night. Vegas dominated the game from start to finish, and Marc-Andre Fleury looked sharp in a 5-0 shutout. The Golden Knights are now up 3-1 on the Sharks, and they will look to close out the series on Thursday night.
🚨 The LA Kings have agreed to terms on a multi-year contract for Todd McLellan to serve as the Kings new head coach 🚨https://t.co/dyNNKAasbk
— LA Kings (@LAKings) April 16, 2019
Former Edmonton Oilers head coach Todd McLellan agreed to become the new coach of the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday. McLellan is replacing Willie Desjardins, and he will aim to get the Kings back in the postseason next year.
Top Stories
- Anatomy of a playoff collapse: What happened to the Tampa Bay Lightning? | ESPN
- Jordan Eberle continues well-timed hot streak for Islanders | Newsday
- Connor the overtime hero as Jets beat Blues to even series | TSN
- Knights’ Fleury puts frustrated Sharks on brink of elimination | Las Vegas Review Journal
- McLellan hired as Kings coach | NHL
