Don't be surprised if that classic "Dumb and Dumber" soundbite becomes the Columbus Blue Jackets' rallying cry following their dramatic, come-from-behind 4-3 victory in Game 1 against the mighty Tampa Bay Lightning.
The upset stopped everybody in their tracks during an action-packed opening night of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It turns out the Lightning, a historically great squad, is not perfect. Sure, they may end up running the table in Games 2-5, but at least this series has life.
With that in mind, let's take a look at what factored into the Jackets erasing a three-goal deficit - and then scoring a fourth goal - to beat the 62-win Lightning on Wednesday.
Bob's your difference
Sergei Bobrovsky played out of his mind in the second and third periods, turning aside all 16 shots he faced after allowing three goals on 13 shots in the first.
His brilliance was especially key in the middle frame, as he kept the Blue Jackets in the game before their offensive explosion in the third. Here's a sampling of the two-time Vezina Trophy winner's work.
A lunging pad save on Nikita Kucherov 30 seconds into the period:
A nifty glove stop on Mathieu Joseph 13 minutes later:
Consecutive point-blank pad saves with 40 seconds left in the period:
That's some fine work from Bobrovsky, a brand-name netminder who enjoyed a tremendous end to the regular season but came into Wednesday's contest with a career playoff save percentage of just .891.
It's safe to say his confidence will be high heading into Game 2 on Friday night.
Kucherov (relatively) quiet
The Lightning's forward group isn't just incredibly dangerous; it's relentless, too, as all four lines contain offensive punch.
Kucherov, the regular season's scoring champ and presumptive MVP, presents both of those qualities most nights. So, if you intend on stopping Tampa, you better put a muzzle on its top dog. Or at least try your hardest to limit his impact.
Columbus accomplished that feat in Game 1, holding Kucherov to two shots on goal in 22 minutes. Linemates Brayden Point and Yanni Gourde, two creative and energetic players in their own right, combined for just five shots.
Mike Carlson / Getty Images
Overall, the Lightning lost the shots battle 11-8 when Kucherov was on the ice at five-on-five - a rarity for the player and his line. With coach Jon Cooper holding the last change, Tampa's top trio faced a mixture of the David Savard-Markus Nutivaara pairing (eight minutes) and the Seth Jones-Zach Werenski duo (four and a half). Both Columbus tandems deserve a pat on the back.
Meanwhile, Steven Stamkos was another Tampa star who failed to mark the score sheet. The Lightning, almost to a man, were too cute with the puck in Game 1. It's an understandable symptom of dominating the competition for months, and not something that's unfixable.
PP wakes up
This series pits the NHL's best penalty-killing teams against each other. Power play success, on the other hand, is not shared.
Tampa converted on 28.2 percent of its power-play opportunities in the regular season, finishing first in the league. Columbus, at 15.4 percent, ranked a woeful 28th.
It's been a puzzling and frustrating reality for the Jackets. Why can't this boatload of talent - Matt Duchene, Artemi Panarin, Cam Atkinson, Jones, and Werenski, just to name a handful - capitalize with the man advantage?
Well, on Wednesday, the talent came through at the perfect moment. After some deft puck movement inside Tampa's zone, Jones buried a shot from the high slot with about six minutes left to take the lead.
With that, the Lightning, who won 39 of 43 games when leading after two periods in the regular season, fell to the Jackets, who won only two of 26 games when trailing after two. Incredible.
In the playoffs, there's always a chance.
John Matisz is theScore's National Hockey Writer. You can find him on Twitter @matiszjohn.
The first evening of the NHL postseason did not disappoint.
Among other surprising storylines, the unquestioned championship favorite coughed up a lead and lost in stunning fashion, and two rookies lifted their respective squads to victory.
Here's what we gleaned from each of the five matchups on the opening night of playoff action:
Lightning take feet off gas after hot start
Everything was going according to the plan for the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, but then the wheels completely fell off for the league's most dominant team.
After tying a franchise postseason record with three goals in the opening period, the Lightning surrendered four unanswered markers, including three in the third, en route to a shocking 4-3 defeat on home ice.
It's not uncommon for a team to ease up a bit with a lead, but to call this particular collapse unexpected would be an understatement.
Tampa Bay was 39-2-2 when leading after two periods in the regular season, while Columbus was 2-23-1 when trailing after 40 minutes, according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti.
Islanders prove to be resilient
Bruce Bennett / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Buoyed by a predictably raucous Nassau Coliseum crowd, the New York Islanders persevered multiple times to earn their Game 1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Islanders thought they'd opened the scoring 33 seconds in, but Tom Kuhnhackl's goal was rightfully wiped out following an offside review, silencing the boisterous arena. However, Jordan Eberle tallied shortly thereafter, at the 1:40 mark, to whip the crowd into a frenzy again.
New York then rallied to win it after allowing Justin Schultz's late tying goal in the third. Josh Bailey buried the overtime winner after a great effort by Mathew Barzal less than five minutes into the extra frame.
The Islanders will need to show the same resiliency in hostile territory as well, but their ability to respond to adversity both early and late in Game 1 was the biggest reason they prevailed.
Binnington stays hot in playoff debut
Jason Halstead / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Jordan Binnington didn't appear phased at all in his first-ever postseason game.
The rookie St. Louis Blues goaltender outdueled the more experienced Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets and allowed only one goal on 25 shots to lift St. Louis to a 2-1 victory in Game 1.
Binnington won 20 of his final 24 contests in the regular season, including eight of his last nine.
On Wednesday night, the 25-year-old proved fully capable of continuing that success in pursuit of the Stanley Cup with a stellar performance in his playoff debut.
Don't tell Heiskanen he's only 19 years old
Frederick Breedon / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Much like Binnington, Miro Heiskanen looked like a seasoned veteran in his first NHL postseason contest.
The young defenseman scored twice in the Dallas Stars' 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators, netting a power-play goal on a wrister in the second period and firing another one home in the third.
Heiskanen also logged more than 23 minutes of ice time. That was about on par with his regular-season workload, but only one teammate (Esa Lindell) and one opposing player (Roman Josi) played more than Heiskanen in Game 1.
The rookie blue-liner has been one of the best and most underappreciated first-year players in the NHL this season, but he won't be undervalued for long if he keeps this up in the playoffs.
Golden Knights come out flat
What a difference a year makes.
The Vegas Golden Knights put forth a lackluster effort until the final minutes of their 5-2 defeat to the San Jose Sharks. The Golden Knights certainly didn't look like the team that overwhelmed so many opponents en route to their run to the Stanley Cup Final last season.
Vegas managed only five shots on goal in each of the first two periods, and got completely outplayed by San Jose in the possession department as well.
Sure, it was only one game, and it was also on the road against a very deep Sharks club, but the Golden Knights obviously need a better effort in Game 2 if they want to avoid digging themselves into a deeper hole.
The Lightning took a 3-0 lead into the first intermission only to have the Blue Jackets storm back with four unanswered goals to steal the game. Despite the disappointment, Stamkos says the defeat was a learning experience that players can benefit from.
"We got a 3-0 lead at home in the playoffs, that should be done and over with. If anything we learned a lesson tonight. We’ll be a lot better," Stamkos said according to Lightning beat reporter Caley Chelios.
Tampa Bay scored a league-high 325 goals this season and looked well on its way to a blowout victory in front of an electric home crowd. Following the contest, head coach John Cooper admitted the Lightning veered away from their game plan after gaining the lead early on.
"Our mentality was we wanted to outscore them instead of build the lead and shut them down," Cooper said.
The Lightning boasted a 31-1-2 record during the regular season when leading after the first period.
Boston Bruins forward David Backes will not be in the lineup Thursday for Game 1 against the Toronto Maple Leafs as the veteran has been declared a healthy scratch for the first time in his postseason career, according to The Athletic's Joe McDonald.
Head coach Bruce Cassidy had a long conversation with Backes following Tuesday's practice to inform the 34-year-old of his decision, McDonald added. He understands that to get back into the lineup, the team will likely have to suffer an injury or go on a losing skid.
"The shitty part is for me to get back in there are three things that would need to happen potentially and none of them are really good," Backes said. 'You’re trying to be a good teammate and hoping that the team has success and wins games, but I want to win a Cup too and if that means I’m sitting some and other guys have a chance to produce then I’ll grab the pom-poms for when I need to."
Backes has seen his point total decrease in five consecutive campaigns and recorded a career-worst 20 points over 70 games this season.
After being listed as a healthy scratch earlier this year, he discussed his role on the club with his head coach. The 6-foot-3 Backes responded by using his size and toughness to remain in the lineup, dropping the gloves on several occasions.
"It gave us real common ground for the rest of the regular season," Backes said. "I thought we were at a place where I was very understanding of what was asked of me and going out there and doing it. I hope, and still hope, I can provide that in the playoffs as well. But, he’s going with a more speedy, faster type of lineup against the Leafs in Game 1 and he’s not finding me fitting that mold."
Backes has recorded 27 points over 49 career playoff contests but contributed just three points in 12 games last spring.
"I'm very excited and can't wait to get going," said Rantanen, who missed the last eight games of the regular season with an upper-body injury. "The medical team did a good job and got me back in shape."
Head coach Jared Bednar confirmed Rantanen will play Thursday.
"(Rantanen) looks good and he's been working hard," Bednar said. "... I think that he's been ramping up nicely. He looks better and quicker every day that he's on the ice. We'll see how he does tomorrow in the game and adjust his ice time from there. But I expect him to play a lot just like he normally does."
The Finnish forward tallied a career-high 87 points in 74 games this season.
St. Louis Blues netminder Jordan Binnington addressed tweets from 2013 that resurfaced prior to Game 1 of his club's first-round playoff series against the Winnipeg Jets.
"It was a while ago when I was a teenager," Binnington said Wednesday, according to The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford. "It was a little sarcasm and joking around. That's what life is about, you live and learn and you grow as a human. I'm just here to play a couple hockey games."
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly also commented on the matter, per The Canadian Press.
"Obviously, we don't condone public comments that could be perceived as insensitive. But based on what we've been made aware of to this point, we don't believe there is any basis to specifically address or even comment on five-year-old social media posts from a player who wasn't even part of the National Hockey League at the time," he said.
Binnington, 25, surged onto the NHL scene in his first season. He went 24-5-1 with a .927 save percentage to play a gigantic role in the Blues' second-half playoff push.
The Tampa Bay Lightning put together a historic 2018-19 regular season, but how does it stack up against campaigns from the all-time greats? We take a look at five other dominant seasons ranked by points percentage:
Montreal Canadiens,1976-77
Bruce Bennett / Bruce Bennett / Getty
Rec.
Points
P%
G
GA
Dif.
60-8-12
132
.825
387
171
+216
Result: Won Stanley Cup NHL Teams: 18 Salary Cap: No Leading scorer: Guy Lafleur (136 points)
The Canadiens dynasty of the mid-late 1970s featured three of the five highest single-season point totals in NHL history. To avoid repetition, we've decided to highlight the 1976-77 Habs - the best of the bunch.
After losing just eight games in the regular season - and tying 12 - the '77 Habs steamrolled the competition in the playoffs as well. They went 12-2 in the postseason, including a four-game sweep of the Don Cherry-coached Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Final.
These Canadiens, featuring nine Hall of Famers, cleaned up on awards night. Ken Dryden won the Vezina Trophy, Larry Robinson and his plus-120 rating took home the Norris Trophy, and Lafleur claimed the Hart Trophy, the Ted Lindsay Award, the Art Ross Trophy, and the Conn Smythe Trophy.
The '77 Habs weren't only the best NHL team ever, but perhaps one of the most cohesive units in the history of sports. Every player knew his role and executed it flawlessly. It's a testament to Scotty Bowman, the man behind the bench.
Detroit Red Wings, 1995-96
Elsa / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Rec.
Points
P%
G
GA
Dif.
62-13-7
131
.799
325
181
+144
Result: Lost in conference finals NHL Teams: 26 Salary Cap: No Leading scorer: Sergei Fedorov (107 points)
The '96 Red Wings may not have won it all, but they followed a dominant 62-win regular season with an unforgettable playoff run. After dispatching a high-powered Winnipeg Jets team in six games, Detroit narrowly escaped a second-round upset at the hands of Wayne Gretzky and the St. Louis Blues, who pushed the Wings to seven games before Steve Yzerman delivered his famous double-overtime winner.
In the conference finals, Detroit faced an upstart Colorado Avalanche team led by Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, and Patrick Roy. Claude Lemieux's hit on Kris Draper, perhaps the most memorable moment of the series, sparked the birth of a heated rivalry. The Avs would get the last laugh, taking the series in six games before sweeping the Florida Panthers in the Cup final.
Despite the disappointing finish, Detroit won the Cup in '97 and '98 with largely the same roster from this '96 team.
These Red Wings featured the second edition of The Russian Five - Fedorov, Igor Larionov, Slava Kozlov, Slava Fetisov, and Vladimir Konstantinov. "The Wizards of Ov" took the league by storm in '96 after Scotty Bowman, Detroit's general manager and head coach (and the bench boss of those famous 76-77 Habs), acquired Larionov from the San Jose Sharks.
Along with Fedorov, Larionov, and Fetisov, the '96 Red Wings boasted four other Hall of Famers - Yzerman, Paul Coffey, Nicklas Lidstrom, and Dino Ciccarelli.
Tampa Bay Lightning, 2018-19
Kevin Sousa / National Hockey League / Getty
Rec.
Points
P%
G
GA
Dif.
62-16-4
128
.780
319
221
+103
Result: TBD NHL Teams: 31 Salary Cap: Yes Leading Scorer: Nikita Kucherov (128 points)
This season's Lightning team put together the best campaign since the introduction of the salary cap. Though it's incredibly difficult to compare teams from different eras, the NHL has arguably never had as much parity as it does today, making these Bolts that much more impressive. It should be noted that Tampa Bay is one of two teams on this list with the advantage of shootout wins, in which it picked up an extra six points.
Nikita Kucherov led the way with 128 points, enjoying the NHL's most dominant season since Mario Lemieux's 161-point campaign in 1995-96. He also set a new benchmark for points in a season by a Russian player, surpassing Alexander Mogilny's 127 in 1992-93. Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, and Brayden Point all reached 40 goals or more, making these Bolts the first team since Lemieux's 1995-96 Pittsburgh Penguins to have three players hit the mark.
It's not possible to win 60-plus games in today's NHL without incredible depth. Last year's addition of Ryan McDonagh stabilized a defense corps anchored by Victor Hedman. Erik Cernak emerged to round out the blue line's right side. Anthony Cirelli led a relentless bottom-six forward group filled with speed, skill, and versatility. And Andrei Vasilevskiy put together a Vezina-caliber season for the cherry on top.
All that remains to be seen is whether these historic Bolts can win the ultimate prize.
Boston Bruins, 1970-71
Bettmann / Bettmann / Getty
Rec.
Points
P%
G
GA
Dif.
57-14-7
121
.776
399
207
+192
Result: Lost in 1st round NHL Teams: 14 Salary Cap: No Leading scorer: Phil Esposito (152 points)
The 1970-71 season may have been Bobby Orr's best. He racked up a career-high 139 points - which still stands as the highest single-season mark by a blue-liner - and set the all-time plus/minus record with an astonishing plus-124 rating. He capped it off with his fourth of eight straight Norris Trophies.
A first-round upset at the hands of the Canadiens marked the first of four times during the '70s that Montreal squashed the Bruins' Stanley Cup aspirations. Two Stanley Cup victories for Boston sandwiched this historic '71 campaign and undoubtedly softened the blow of its disappointing finish, although three in a row would've qualified as a dynasty.
Though Orr and Phil Esposito stole most of the headlines, the campaigns by captain Johnny Bucyk (116 points) and Ken Hodge (105 points) can't be overlooked. The Bruins also enjoyed goaltending from Hall of Famer Gerry Cheevers between the pipes.
Detroit Red Wings, 2005-06
Gregory Shamus / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Rec.
Points
P%
G
GA
Dif.
58-16-8
124
.756
301
206
+95
Result: Lost in 1st round NHL Teams: 30 Salary Cap: Yes Leading scorer: Pavel Datsyuk (87)
Aside from the Lightning, these Red Wings are the only team on this list that had to contend with a salary cap. And though they had the advantage of shootout wins, only four of their victories came in the skills competition.
A decade after its historic '96 campaign, Detroit put together another remarkable season, barely missing the 60-win milestone. But the Red Wings suffered a first-round upset in the playoffs, losing in six games to the eighth-seeded Edmonton Oilers, who went on a miracle run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Yzerman and Lidstrom were the only holdovers from the '96 team, but a new wave of talent led by Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg helped catapult the club back to greatness; the bulk of this roster would stick around for Detroit's 11th Stanley Cup in 2008.
Edmonton Oilers, 1983-84
Focus On Sport / Focus on Sport / Getty
Rec.
Points
P%
G
GA
Dif.
57-18-5
119
.744
446
314
+132
Result: Won Stanley Cup NHL Teams: 21 Salary Cap: No Leading scorer: Wayne Gretzky (205 points)
The 1984 Stanley Cup Final marked the birth of one dynasty and the end of another. The Oilers won their first of five Stanley Cups over seven seasons, defeating a New York Islanders team seeking its fifth straight championship. The victory served as revenge for the Oilers, who the Isles swept in the Cup final the year prior.
The provincial rival Calgary Flames gave the Oilers a run for their money, pushing their high-scoring, second-round series to seven games. Otherwise, Edmonton didn't face much of a scare, going 15-4 in the postseason.
Statistically, the '84 Oilers are the best offensive team of all time. They averaged an astounding 5.58 goals per game - albeit in the highest-scoring era ever. Five players, all of whom are enshrined in the Hall of Fame, had at least 99 points: Gretzky, Coffey (126), Jari Kurri (113), Mark Messier (101), and Glenn Anderson (99). Hall of Famer Grant Fuhr guarded Edmonton's net.
What does this mean for the Lightning?
Scott Audette / National Hockey League / Getty
If this list is any indication, a Stanley Cup is far from guaranteed for the Lightning. But if the Bolts fall short of the ultimate prize, history is on their side for the coming campaigns. Three teams on this list failed to win the Stanley Cup despite their dominant regular seasons: the '96 Red Wings and '71 Bruins, both of whom won it their very next season, and the '06 Red Wings, who won two years later.
The Washington Capitals are the most recent example of this trend. They won back-to-back Presidents' Trophies in 2016 and 2017 but were ousted in the second round each time. After finishing sixth in the league during the 2017-18 regular season, they went on to win the franchise's first Cup.
Regardless of how Tampa Bay's playoff run ends, we've already witnessed greatness this season.
